


Ritornello

by doctrpepper



Series: medley of time [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/F, M/M, and we're back babes, background katara/yue, tags will update as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22624744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctrpepper/pseuds/doctrpepper
Summary: zuko sets about fixing the future. as with all of his plans, things go awry almost immediately.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: medley of time [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627696
Comments: 235
Kudos: 1423





	1. Primo

"Are we there yet?" Sokka asks for what must be the fifteenth time in as many minutes. 

"Almost," Aang replies again, just as calm as every other time. 

Momo chitters and adjusts his position in Zuko's lap. Zuko carefully moves his fingers out of the lemur’s biting range, having learned his lesson.

“Where are we going, exactly?” he asks as casually as he can. He feels as if he’s walking on eggshells, unsure yet of his place in this group and how hard he can push. He has their trust and their willingness to give him a chance, but he still has to remind himself that these are not yet the friends he knows. 

Aang turns and sends a small smile over his shoulder. “I was thinking we could stop on a town on the coast! You’re…” Here he pauses, unsure, but then goes on as if he had never stopped. “You’re new to the group, so basically what we do is stop in towns and help out if they need us!”

“We also need supplies,” Sokka adds. 

“And we should keep an eye out for an earthbending teacher, too,” Katara suggests.

Aang turns to her. “Oh, I was just gonna go back to Omashu and ask Bumi!”

Katara and Sokka share a long glance, and Zuko thinks back to when he had met Bumi, at the White Lotus camp. The old man is a world-renowned earthbender, and had clearly thought high of Aang’s abilities, but Zuko knows for a fact he had never taught Aang, not before. 

No, there was another earthbender, a small, loud girl who mocked freely and punched hard, and who cared so deeply about her friends she would drop everything for them. A girl who had sat with him before anyone else would and listened to him rant about his father and his sister and his life and who had called him an idiot and punched him in the shoulder and somehow made him feel like someone had finally heard him. 

When he makes his decision, Zuko doesn’t consider the big picture, he doesn’t do it in order to maintain the necessary parts of the original timeline or anything grand like that. He simply misses his friend Toph.

“Are you sure about Omashu?” he asks.

Aang turns to him, and Katara and Sokka do as well. “Who better than King Bumi to teach me earthbending?” Aang asks. “Also, we were friends, back - before.”

Zuko feels really, really bad now. But - “Well, I mean.” He racks his brain, trying to think of an explanation that didn’t involve any future knowledge. How did they meet Toph the first time around? “There’s - in Gaoling there’s an earthbending competition for the top earthbender in the Earth Kingdom, maybe someone from there?”

Aang doesn’t look convinced but Sokka contemplates it. “Someone who knows their stuff and isn’t crazy _would_ be good…”

Aang frowns, eyes narrowed. “Bumi is my friend. I want him as my teacher. He’ll come with us if I ask, he’s my friend too.”

Sokka looks like he wants to retort, but Katara jumps in. “We don’t have to decide now. We still have to stop and pick up supplies.”

Sokka nods and turns to Zuko. “Tell us more about that earthbending ring when we land.”

Zuko nods. He’d hesitated to intrude in the discussion, fearing he would overstep, so he’s pleased that Sokka seems to be willing to consider his suggestion. He feels a little bad trying to deny Aang the chance to train with his old friend, but he also, selfishly, wants to see Toph again. Besides, this doesn’t mean they can’t stop by for a visit.

Aang is silent as Appa flies on, still looking unhappy. It’s clear he’s still determined to train with Bumi. Zuko hopes he’d be able to convince Aang to give Toph a chance, at least. The little earthbender is the perfect addition to the group, and even if she doesn’t have the same closeness with him as she had in his time, he hopes she’ll be close with the others once again.

They really are a powerful team, all together, and he wants to do all he can to bring them together again. 

Sokka leans back against the saddle wall, looking bored, then suddenly brightens and hurries to Zuko’s side. He leans in close, and Zuko leans back instinctively, but inwardly he doesn’t mind too much. 

“Hey, you got any secret military knowledge we should know about?” 

“Sokka! You can’t just ask that,” Katara admonishes, but she turns her attention to him as well.

“I was banished,” Zuko reminds both of them. “They didn’t really tell me much of anything.”

“Okay, sure, but we literally know nothing,” Sokka retorts.

“Don’t push him,” Aang calls back from his seat. “He’s doing a lot by just being here. We’ve been doing fine so far.”

“I guess, but -” Sokka’s face twists. “I don’t really want to end up fighting them again so soon after -”

He breaks off into tense silence and Zuko shifts. He would have had no problem spilling his father’s plans, but he truly knows nothing of the Fire Nation’s movements, considering he’d been left completely out of the loop, and last time around he’d been adrift on the raft. 

The thought of the raft reminds him of his sister, who’d been waiting at the other end. He wonders if she’d be sent after him again, but isn’t so sure. The Fire Nation truly believes he’s dead this time, or at least out of the picture, with nothing to tie him or his uncle to stopping the invasion. 

Still, he thinks, he needs to tell them something. He thinks over everything he knows about the future and realizes there’s one huge Fire Nation objective he’s not sure they know about yet.

“Have you heard of Sozin’s Comet?” he asks, then immediately regrets it as Katara and Sokka wince in unison.

Aang’s shoulders tense. “I’ve heard of it,” he says. “Roku - Roku told me about it. And how it’s coming back. And how the Fire Nation is going to use it to end the war.”

“It was during the solstice,” Katara adds quietly when it’s clear Aang is done talking. “He told Aang he had to master all the elements by the end of the summer.”

“Wait, you were there too,” Sokka says. “You almost kept Aang from getting in the room.”

“Um -” Zuko looks away. “Sorry about that.”

Sokka, to his surprise, just shrugs. “You didn’t do a very good job.” His eyebrows draw together. “Wait, now that I think about it, Zhao locked you up too.”

Katara’s eyes widen. “I remember that too! He called you a traitor. I can’t believe we forgot.” She turns to him and offers a small smile. “Sorry about that. It would have made things easier back in the North.”

Zuko finds himself smiling back, heart warming. “It’s fine. You had other things on your mind.”

Aang turns fully in his seat to face them. He’s still clearly shaken up at the reminder of the comet, not to mention everything else that had been weighing on his mind, but his face is set in a determined expression. “Wait, what were you going to say about the comet?”

Zuko thinks for a second. He had meant to inform about the comet itself, but clearly he doesn’t need to. Well, there is one thing he can tell them, then. “Before the comet comes, there’s going to be an eclipse.”

“An eclipse?” Sokka echoes. 

“The sun goes dark for a few minutes, and we lose the ability to firebend.”

The three reel back in shock. “You lose the ability to firebend? How do you know about this? How does no one else know about this?” Aang leaves his position on the saddle and scrambles to join the small circle around Zuko.

Zuko frowns, wondering how to phrase what he knows in a way they would believe him and not involve any future stuff. “It’s happened a couple times before. There was a book about it even, _The Darkest Day in Fire Nation History_ , but it disappeared from the palace library all of a sudden one day. It’s the royal family’s best kept secret. Not even the rest of the Fire Nation is allowed to know, just us and a few generals. If word got out and the rest of the world found out…”

He trails off and the others look away. He knows they understand what would happen, but he also understands that they would not be entirely opposed to that outcome, not like he would. The barrier between him and his friends, one he’d thought was finally coming down, seems to return.

“Why are you telling us, then?” Katara asks quietly. 

“If we do it right,” Zuko says, thinking fast. “If you let me help, we can end the war without hurting the Fire Nation. Just stopping the Fire Lord.” As he says it, he realizes it’s true. In the Northern Water Tribe, he’d mostly been focused on getting out and, later, saving Yue. Fixing the whole future had been more of an abstract concept. But, as he thinks it over, he realizes this could work. Sokka’s invasion had been effective, but also pretty much as bloodless as an invasion could be. It had only been stopped because Azula had learned about it. If he can keep Azula from finding out this time around, and have the added benefit of Sokka’s trust, he can get Aang to Ozai and leave the ordinary citizens out of it. 

His three companions are staring at each other, clearly lost in their own thoughts.

“If we can end the war without hurting anyone,” Aang says eventually. “If we can get Ozai to stop… We have to try.”

Zuko winces inwardly, remembering an argument at a beach about what “stop” really meant, but pushes that thought aside. They can do this. They have an earlier warning now, and more time to plan. Maybe encountering Ozai during the eclipse really could stop the war without bloodshed. He doesn’t know, but he’s willing to try. If they can get this invasion to work this time around, they would keep the losses down on both sides. Maybe he really can change the future for the better.

Aang returns to his seat at the front, lost in thought, and the ride continues in silence. Zuko leans against the saddle and begins to make his own plans. They’re going to pull this off.

He’s sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back! i said i would do it! it....may have taken a lot longer than i would have hoped and may continue to take a while, but i DO have a few buffer chapters. i never lost my passion for the story, its just the motivation to write that's been hard. really the worst part was the beginning. i got so excited for stuff that happens later in this verse, but couldnt get through the start. so now its (mostly) (hopefully) smooth sailing!
> 
> a large part of what got me to push through is yall's comments. i cried over every single one i SWEAR i love you all so much and you're all so supportive :') this one's for you all


	2. secundo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ummmm sorry ? things have not been so great but im tryin you guys i love you. i hope this is worth the wait ? its long at least.

Zuko has never been very good at fishing. Sokka had tried to teach him, but there hadn't really been much time for stuff like that while training for the final fight against the Fire Lord, and he'd never quite managed to catch anything. 

The captain of the fishing vessel, watching him struggle to untangle his own line for the third time in too short of a time period, clearly notes this. 

“You said you were both experts,” he says to Sokka, gruff.

Sokka laughs awkwardly, hands flying over his own knots with expert precision. “Did I? I - uh - I meant I was an expert. He’s my - he’s my apprentice! Yep! He needs the training.”

The man sighs and walks away to inspect other workers, and Zuko shoots Sokka a glare. He had agreed to help Aang and the others give assistance to the town, but had not appreciated being signed up against his will to help on a fishing boat. He couldn’t argue, because Aang needed to help people and the town had truly needed the help, but he could still be miffed about it.

Sokka shrugs apologetically, clearly not sorry at all. Zuko turns away from his smug grin and looks back at the harbor, almost out of sight by now. He can just barely see Katara and Aang on the shore, a shock of blue and orange and yellow against the green, helping villagers with their own tasks. He doesn’t like that they’ve separated, but, as Sokka had assured him, what’s the worst that can happen?

Almost the second he has that thought, a man cries out, “Fire Nation ships ahead!”

Sokka and Zuko jump up as one and rush to the front of the vessel, flanked by the other sailors. Zuko’s eyes widen as he sees ships emerge from the morning mist, huge ones, clearly fresh from the invasion. They spread out in a half-moon shape and seem to stop there. They’ve set anchor.

Zuko goes cold. He might not have been part of very many missions during his time on his own ship, or any at all, really, but he knows enough about the Navy to recognize the formation. The boats will release smaller craft to make landfall. They’re going to try to take the town.

“Aw, come on!” Sokka groans, throwing his arms in the air. “Can we get  _ one _ day without these guys showing up?!”

“Why  _ are  _ they here?” Zuko asks himself under his breath. He and the others had chosen to stop in this town specifically because it was  _ not _ the first choice of any ship retreating from the failed invasion. There are a slew of towns closer to the Fire Nation, most of them already colonies, that any ship would vastly prefer to dock at. For a force this large to show up so soon after a retreat, when all any captain would want to do is dock at a friendly port for supplies and restore morale, means something is very, very wrong.

Sokka frowns at Zuko, an unreadable expression on his face, and opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by another shout from the crew. 

As Zuko had expected, smaller boats are detaching from the fleet and barreling toward the shore. He looks for any sign of Aang or Katara, but they’re lost among the sea of scrambling villagers. 

He doesn’t have time to worry about their fate, though, because the catapults of the Navy ships have activated as well, and he’s thrown off his feet as a projectile hits the water dangerously close to the fishing boat. He barely manages to get back up when he’s thrown off balance once again.

He’s caught before he hits the deck by the captain, who manages to grab his arm. “Why are they shooting at  _ us?” _ the man asks, almost to himself. 

“They’re Fire Nation,” Sokka pipes up from where he’s clinging to the railing. “It’s what they do.”

Zuko pulls himself free with a nod of thanks for the save, and joins Sokka by the side of the boat just as another projectile hits the water, even closer this time. 

“You need to get out of here,” Sokka says to the captain.

He seems to jolt out of his trance. “Right!” He turns to where the rest of the crew is in varying states of unbalanced. “There’s a landing vessel tied to the side. Get it down and get out of here! Hurry!”

The crew bolts into action. The ship jolts again, giving the men pause, but they get back to their feet the minute the deck stabilizes. Zuko lets out a sigh, still gripping a handrail, and Sokka slumps against the mast. The captain stands at the rail, frowning out at the Navy ships.

“They weren’t supposed to shoot at us,” he says.

Sokka lets out a breathy laugh. “Like I said, it’s what they do.”

The captain shakes his head, eyes drifting downward. “No, I mean - the Commander told me they wouldn’t.”

Sokka freezes, and Zuko feels himself grow cold. He can’t have heard that right. 

“What do you mean, the Commander told you?” Sokka asks, tone carefully neutral. 

The captain runs a hand through his hair, looking pained. “He told me that if I took the boat out, we’d be left alone when he captured the Avatar. He said it was my reward for coming to him with news of his whereabouts. I didn’t expect - I should’ve known.”

Zuko catches Sokka’s eyes, seeing the same shock in them as in his own. Aang - and Katara, too, she would be right with him - is in danger. 

“Why?” Sokka asks, unable to hide his worry. 

“I’m sick of this war.” The captain crosses his arms. “I just want to be left alone, just want to feed my people.”

“The Fire Nation would never leave you alone,” Zuko says softly. “Not while there’s anyone standing up to them.”   
The captain lets out a huff. “I don’t  _ want _ to stand up to them. I don't even care if the village I’m feeding is technically Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation. They’re my people either way. The Avatar came in and put them in danger, so I did what I thought would fix things.”

Zuko and Sokka share another glance. “I -”

The crew has made it to the landing craft, and one of them pops his head over the side. “You coming, captain?”

The captain glances back at Zuko and Sokka. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you or anyone else on this ship involved in all this. I just wanted -” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair and sighs heavily. “I just wanted this whole thing to be over.”

“It won’t be over until the Fire Lord is defeated,” Zuko says quietly. “You can’t just wish it away. The Fire Nation will never stop unless that happens, or unless they win and everything is theirs. And if they win, there won’t be much of an Earth Kingdom anymore.”

It had taken him a long time to realize that, and he had spent much of that time like the captain, wishing he could just walk away and leave it all behind. Let the Fire Nation do what it wanted, and leave him out of it. He had learned the hard way that he couldn’t just ignore the war, but he understands where the captain is coming from. But he also remembers his last council meeting, and the glint in his father’s eyes as he had revealed his plan to raze an entire kingdom to the ground.

The captain opens his mouth to respond, but is distracted by the ship lurching once again. “Let’s get out of here.”

“We’re staying,” Sokka says, surprising Zuko. “We can distract the Fire Nation while you get away.”

The captain blinks. “I can’t ask you to -”

“We came on here to help,” Sokka says. “Despite what you did, we can’t just leave you. We’re not like that. Besides, we both have more experience with the Fire Nation Navy.”

The captain looks at them for a long moment, eyes unreadable, then bows. Zuko knows enough from his time in the Earth Kingdom to recognize the degree of respect, and blinks in surprise. Maybe they managed to get through to him. The captain turns and hurries off, and seconds later the landing craft hits the water with a splash. 

Sokka turns to Zuko. “You take the tiller and I’ll get the sails?”

“Thanks for volunteering me,” Zuko replies, as if he wouldn’t have insisted on staying on his own.

Sokka throws him a sly smile, as if he knows that is exactly what Zuko would have done. “Welcome to Team Avatar.”

The deck shakes as another projectile hits the water, worryingly close to the sail this time, and the two spring into action. Zuko is no expert at Earth Kingdom ships, but he knows enough about them to know that the stick at the back, the tiller, is the equivalent of the wheel. Very quickly, he also learns that the ship turns the opposite way one pushes the tiller. Thankfully, his trial period, while sending the ship on a wobbly, twisting course, pushes it away from the landing craft heading toward the village and toward the menacing ring of warships still firing on it. 

Sokka, in the middle of darting back and forth to trim the sails according to Zuko’s wild movements, hits the deck face-down as a projectile soars where his head had just been, thankfully not igniting anything in its path.

Zuko keeps an eye on the smaller craft, letting Sokka’s loud noises warn him of onconoming projectiles. It’s making steady progress, but is traveling slow, unable to catch good wind. 

Suddenly, there’s a roar from above them. Zuko looks up, and a smile fills his face when he sees Appa, flying toward the ship through the increasingly smoky air. Sokka lets out a whoop and Zuko angles the craft toward the bison, but has to pull up as sharply as he can as a projectile flies into his path. He hears another roar from Appa, who’s dodging projectiles of his own. The Navy’s aim had been pretty weak when shooting at the fishing boat, having to aim downward from their high bows, but with an airborne target the warships are able to adjust their angles better.

Appa dodges and weaves, used to avoiding Fire Nation catapults, but he’s trapped in the veritable center of a ring of ships. Zuko can just barely make out Katara on the reins, a flash of blue against the white, struggling to keep an eye on both the projectiles and the fishing vessel. 

With another roar, Appa peels away, retreating slightly as a small shape detaches from his back. Aang. 

The airbender loops toward them, spinning through the increasingly hazy air, but Zuko can only watch in horror as a projectile cuts too close and there’s a flash of flame as his glider catches. Thankfully, Appa darts in to catch him as he begins to fall, but the bison is forced to retreat once again as the Fire Nation continues their relentless battery. 

Zuko spares a second to share a wide-eyed glance with Sokka, the two of them stuck on the ship, powerless to do anything to help.

Appa makes one last attempt to reach them, but the combination of the smoky air and the projectiles still flying with increasing accuracy drives him back once more. With a mournful groan, Appa turns and flies back toward the village. 

In the confusion, Zuko had lost sight of the landing craft, but he takes the fact he can no longer spot it as a sign it’s safely away from the action. He turns the boat toward shore, glancing over his shoulder at the seemingly endless barrage of projectiles still headed their way. He zig-zags his way downwind, head spinning as he tries to keep an eye on both the Navy behind him and the distance ahead of him. 

With a lurch, the boat turns one last corner, and the air is suddenly still. They’re out of range. 

Zuko sets the boat on a course dead downwind, relaxing his grip on the tiller. Sokka slumps against the rail, gasping out a breath. 

“Do you think they’ve gone back to the village?” Zuko asks.

Sokka shrugs, but it’s clear he’s worried. “Probably.” His gaze is turned back toward the Fire Nation, his eyes cold. 

The two of them drift into a tense silence. Something is clearly weighing on Sokka’s mind, and Zuko waits patiently for him to speak.

Sokka suddenly pushes himself off from the rail and clenches his hands into his fists. “I’m just so  _ tired. _ We were just trying to help, and  _ still _ we have to fight off the Fire Nation. Why can’t they just  _ leave us alone?” _

Zuko opens his mouth to respond, then realizes it’s a rhetorical question. Sokka knows just as well as he does why the Fire Nation won’t stop until their whole group is captured, or worse. 

“With Zhao dead and you with us, I thought, like an idiot, maybe we could finally get a break,” Sokka goes on, heated, “Finally get ahead of them for once. But, no, now we’re trapped out here running from them once again, and we don’t even know if the others are okay.”

“They’re tough,” Zuko says, uncertain if he should contribute to Sokka’s ranting but wanting to be reassuring. “They’ll be fine.”

Sokka whirls around to frown at him. Zuko takes a step back. It’s been a while since Sokka had leveled a glare like this at him, in this timeline or his own. 

“And who’s fault is it the Fire Nation is here?” Sokka demands.

There’s a tense silence, then Zuko offers, hesitantly, “The captain’s?”

“They wouldn’t have even been here to make that deal if you hadn’t stopped the Ocean Spirit from killing them at the North Pole.”

Zuko reels back in shock, then narrows his eyes. “You can’t really be blaming me for this. Not because of that. They’re my people too, despite what the Fire Lord is trying to make them become. I don’t like this situation either, but I won’t apologize for saving their lives. They didn’t deserve to die.”

All the fight leaves Sokka in a rush, and his shoulders slump. The glare leaves his eyes, and he puts his head in his hands. “The worst part is, I know that. I understand.” 

He raises his head. “Look, Zuko, I’m -”

Before Sokka can finish, a projectile tears overhead, this time igniting a sail. They had drifted back into range while distracted. Sokka hurries over to it, hastily untying the flaming sail and pulling off the mast. He manages to get it free and safely into the water without getting burnt or setting anything else on fire, but the damage is done. The only remaining sail is the smaller one, which makes gaining any speed difficult, but Zuko manages to wrest the boat around and back on a path to land. Sokka hovers by the sail, keeping himself busy fiddling with the rigging.

Neither of them speak the whole trip back to shore.

Zuko is jumping off the boat the second it makes landfall. The dock is largely the same as he had left it, aside from being devoid of people, but as he rushes into the village, he sees evidence of the Fire Nation’s presence. Charred roofs and impacts on the ground where a fireball hit are evident everywhere, and still there is no one to be found.

He hears footsteps behind him and spins around, but it’s only Sokka.

“I think I saw someone duck into a house the next street over,” Sokka says, not meeting his eyes. 

Zuko nods, despite the fact that Sokka is already pushing past him, and follows.

The pair turn a corner and almost stumble upon a woman holding a pail of water. She startles at the sight of them, spilling most of it on the ground.

“Sorry,” Sokka says, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace, “But - what happened?”

“The Fire Nation happened,” the woman replies, frowning down at the puddle of water at her feet.

“Where did everyone go?” Zuko asks. 

“Still hiding, mostly,” the woman says. “The soldiers left around when the Avatar flew away, but no one’s really sure if they’re coming back.” She inspects the water left in her bucket. “Someone’s gotta start putting these flames out, though.”

“The Avatar?” Sokka leans forward. “Was he okay? Was there a Water Tribe girl with him? Was she okay? Where did they go?”

The woman frowns at him, then sighs. “It was him and some girl on that - that beast. They got the soldiers to chase them out of the village, then jumped on their beast and flew away. As to where they went -” She blinks. “Oh, you must be who he was talking about.”

Sokka meets eyes with Zuko, mirroring his surprise - only to frown slightly and turn back to the woman. “What do you mean?”

“You were the other two with them when they came into the village, right? The ones who went on the fishing boat?” At their nod, she goes on. “He said to tell you when you got back they were gonna head out to start training earthbending, and you should meet them there. They didn’t want to stick around and put us in more danger when the soldiers were only after them.”

Sokka lets out a breath of air, clearly relieved, but his shoulders remain tense. Zuko can relate. While it’s good to hear that Aang and Katara are okay, he doesn’t like the fact they’ve separated for spirits know how long. 

The woman makes a move as if to turn around, then pauses. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about all this. You’re all just kids, you shouldn’t have to face the Fire Nation army when you’re just trying to help people. I hope you catch up with your friends soon.”

“Thank you,” Sokka replies. “And thank you for telling us where the others went. I’m sorry, too, about what happened to your village because of us.”

The woman waves her hand. “Not your fault. That’s what the Fire Nation does. You just be safe, and defeat the Fire Lord. For all of us stuck here in our villages, helpless against attacks.”

“We will,” Zuko promises solemnly. And he means it. This is what he’s fighting for. These are the people he met during his time in the Earth Kingdom, all the little people who weren’t part of any army, who were just trying to survive. It had taken him far, far too long to learn to respect them, but he had learned his lesson. Even the people like the captain, who had sold them out in exchange for an empty promise, had only wanted the war to be over. The people are tired of all the fighting, and it was past time to do something about it.

The woman rubs her chin. “I assume, since you came here on the Avatar’s beast, you need some mode of transportation.”   
Sokka holds up a hand. “We’ll be fine -”

“No, I insist.” The woman marches down a side street, clearly expecting them to follow. Sokka and Zuko are led to a small barn, where a few ostrich horses are feeding. They seem a little ruffled, but no worse for wear, despite the scorch marks that show the Fire Nation had been there. 

“I can only spare one, sorry,” the woman says, unlatching a particularly muscular steed. “He’s my husband’s, but the man prefers his boat to riding these days.”

“We can’t possibly -” Sokka starts to say, but the woman cuts him off again and shoves the reins into his hand. 

“You end the war, and then you can bring him back,” she says with a half grin.

Sokka looks uncertain, but Zuko bows in traditional Earth Kingdom fashion. The woman’s eyebrows rise, but she returns the bow. Sokka bows as well, his form slightly off, but the woman makes no mention of it, simply returning it in kind. 

Sokka tugs on the reins, trying to pull the ostrich horse out into the street, but the steed makes no move to follow, clicking its beak in annoyance.

Zuko reaches over and takes the reins, remembering his old companion from a lifetime ago. While he had acquired his ostrich horse in an… unsavory way, the two of them had bonded as much as one could with an animal. The ostrich horse had been there for him in one of the lowest periods of his life, and had faithfully carried him through a country that had been hostile to him. 

He pulls himself up onto its back with ease. Sokka huffs out a sigh and struggles up behind him, much less used to it. They take a second to adjust their seating, and Sokka holds his arms out awkwardly, unsure where to put them. 

“Just wrap them around me,” Zuko says. 

Sokka does, the action pulling him closer to Zuko’s back. “I’m sorry about what I said before, on the ship,” he says quietly, out of earshot of the woman. 

Zuko nods. He knows Sokka didn’t mean it in the way he had said it, but he also knows there’s something still weighing in Sokka’s mind. He can only hope they can work it out and keep their friendship intact.

One thing he does know is that long trips through the Earth Kingdom on ostrich horseback is a great way to resolve conflicts, both inward and outward. 

The woman startles them by slapping the hindquarters of the ostrich horse, who springs into action. It’s only by practice that Zuko is able to jerk the reins and get the ostrich horse onto the path out of town. His reflexes are slower than he’s used to, this body not having the muscle memory he had built in his time, and he only barely manages to avoid running directly into a few street signs.

It certainly doesn’t help that Sokka’s grip tightens around Zuko’s chest and doesn’t let up the entire chaotic ride out of town.

Soon enough, they’re on the main southern road, and Zuko manages to wrestle the ostrich horse into a brisk but steady pace. Sokka peels himself off Zuko’s back with a sigh. 

“So Aang’s headed to learn earthbending?” Zuko asks, glancing over his shoulder. 

Sokka gives him a hesitant smile. There’s still some tension between them, some things they’ll need to work through, but Zuko is relieved to note Sokka is still willing to give him a chance. 

“To Omashu it is, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well that didnt happen the last time around.....
> 
> im still not totally happy with this chapter but it hit all the points i needed it to and i just wanted to get it out. also for those asking about zukos hair: theres a reason im holding off on mentioning it. if you want a visual though its the same s1 look as canon but probaly with a bit of buzz on the scalp bc he hasnt shaved. as of now.


	3. tertio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey,, how yall doin...
> 
> notice the new character tag? we're getting the whole squad together

Despite the fact she knows she won’t see anything, Katara keeps looking over her shoulder. The ground is far beneath Appa, streaming by as he flies at his fastest pace. There’s really no reason to rush anymore, they’re far out of reach of the Navy, but Aang, and Appa by extension, are still spooked. 

Katara runs a hand through Momo’s fur, and finds it shaking. Maybe she’s still a little spooked too.

They’d lingered by the village only long enough to be sure the soldiers had well and truly left it, and then had jumped on Appa and shot off in a random direction. Aang had wanted to turn around for Sokka and Zuko, but the woman who had helped them had assured them she would pass on their message. She had said the important thing is that Aang escapes, and Katara agrees. 

The other two will be fine, she had told Aang, trying desperately to believe herself. 

Appa lags after a long, tense while, and Aang brings him down to rest. He had pushed himself in their wild escape, and he needs a break. They’re certainly far enough away from the village to warrant one, but Katara still can’t lose the shake in her hands. 

“Where are we?” she asks, trying to pinpoint their location by examining the trees. 

Aang looks up from where he’s stroking Appa’s head. “Somewhere past the Great Divide,” he says. “I’m pretty sure we passed it a ways back.”

Katara pulls out one of Sokka’s maps and pushes down a pang in her heart at the thought of him. She’ll see him soon enough, she tells herself. Aang looks over her shoulder.

The two of them stare at it for a long while. 

Finally, Aang sighs. “I give up. I can’t read that.”

“Let’s camp here for the night,” Katara says, even though the sun is still in the sky. “We’re all tired, and we need a rest.”

Aang nods and hurries to get out the bedrolls. Katara watches him sadly. He hasn’t been upbeat in a while, still shaken from the invasion, but he had been coming back to himself when they had first landed at the village. Something about helping people always seems to cheer him up. But then the attack, and being separated from Sokka and Zuko -

Katara sighs. She’s worried about her brother’s safety, but, and she never thought she would think this, she’s happy Zuko’s with him. She still feels weary about the firebender, but he had helped them out in the Northern Water Tribe. He’d also, generally, seemed very different, far less angry and far more in control of himself. While she would never have trusted the Zuko she had met when he had first stepped off his ship to threaten her village, she finds she would be willing to trust this new version of him. At least to fight with, rather than against Sokka long enough to reunite.

Aang and Katara set up their camp in silence, both lost in their own thoughts and worries. Katara gets a small fire going, and she and Aang curl up close to its warmth. 

Aang pulls out his glider and opens it. Katara winces when she sees the damage. Aang’s harrowing last-ditch effort to get to Zuko and Sokka had ended with him barely managing to dodge a direct hit from a projectile, but his glider had been rendered useless by the flames. The parchment wings are singed and torn. If they can get the proper materials it can be fixed, she thinks, but it will take some time, and she has no idea where to even start looking.

Aang closes it gently, sadly. Katara is suddenly reminded of how his staff had been one of the few possessions he had had on him when she had found him, meaning it is one of his last links to his people. Even if it can one day be fixed, the damage is still painful.

“Are you excited to start earthbending?” Katara asks, hoping to get his mind off it. 

Aang glances up, startled, then smiles. It’s forced, but it’s there. “Yeah. I remember watching Bumi’s training when we were kids, some of the stuff they do is pretty insane.”

“Oh yeah?” Katara thinks back to her own experience with the mad king. She wonders what sort of training created such a man.

Aang launches into a tale from his childhood, full of crazy earth- and airbending stunts that seems more fiction than fact, and Katara feels herself gradually relax as she listens. The two of them are safe here, and they will meet up with Sokka and Zuko soon enough. Everything will be fine.

A sudden noise in the forest jolts them out of their reprieve. Aang cuts himself off mid sentence and Katara stiffens. They turn as one toward the origin of the noise, and see a shadow emerging from within the trees. Katara touches the pouch at her side, feeling for the water within it. Beside her, Aang has a hand on his staff.

The two watch in tense silence as the figure steps out of the treeline and into the light of their fire, revealing -

“Suki?”

The woman in question smiles. Her trademark makeup is faded and her dress is simpler than Katara remembers, but she knows that bob of hair and uniform anywhere. Suki, of the Kyoshi Warriors, is standing before them.

“What are you doing out here?” Aang asks, brightening and running up to hug her.

Suki lets out a laugh and embraces him in return before beckoning over her shoulder. Two other women emerge from the trees, much quieter than Suki had been, both dressed in the trademark Kyoshi Warrior uniform.

“We decided to help fight the Fire Nation in any way we could,” Suki explains. “After you guys left, I took some of our Warriors and we came to Ba Sing Se and we ended up helping refugees fleeing into the city. We were out on patrol when we spotted Appa flying overhead.” She pauses, frowning. “Where’s Sokka?”

Aang pulls away, once again looking down, and Katara’s shoulders slump. “We got separated,” she explains. “After we left the North Pole, we got ambushed in a town a while back, and Aang and I - we had to run. It was the only choice.”

Suki’s features twist in worry. “Is he okay?”

“He was, when we had to leave. I can only hope he still is.”

The three of them are silent for a long moment, until Aang speaks up. “He’s going to be fine. He’s got Zuko with him!”

Suki’s head shoots up and the other women are suddenly on high alert. “Zuko? Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation? You’re saying he has Sokka?”

Aang waves his arms in a placating gesture. “No, no, he’s good now! He helped us in the North Pole by telling them about the invasion, and he was traveling with us before we got separated!”

Suki narrows her eyes, clearly still suspicious. “Invasion?”

Aang launches into a dramatic retelling of his adventures since he had left Kyoshi island, and the other warriors settle around the fire to listen. Suki, however, drifts close to Katara, and nods her head at the forest. Katara gets up and follows Suki until they’re out of earshot.

“So,” Suki says, “Zuko’s good now?” She turns to face Katara, face serious. “I find it hard to believe that a guy who burnt my village nearly to the ground to hunt Aang down would suddenly join him, not without an ulterior motive. What’s your take?”

Katara casts a glance back at the fire, where Aang looks happier as he tells his tale to a captive audience. “It is hard to believe, I know. I didn’t know what to think when we first saw him at the North Pole. There was…something different about him.” She sighs. “It’s hard to explain. But he helped us, too, when the Fire Nation tried to invade. Aang trusts him, and I trust Aang - I was giving him a chance to earn my trust. But I think he would have, had we not gotten separated.”

Suki’s mouth twists. It’s obvious she doesn’t believe Katara, but she honestly doesn’t expect her to. It sounds crazy, when she says it out loud, but Katara knows what she had seen. 

“I hope to Oma and Shu you’re right,” Suki says quietly.

The two of them return as Aang is getting to the part of their journey where they reach the North Pole. At his mention of Yue, Katara feels a pang in her heart.  _ Yue _ … She hopes she’ll be fine. The woman is strong, and has the drive to lead her tribe. She knows Yue is probably hard at work right this minute rebuilding, and she belongs with her people, especially now, but Katara wishes she were by her side. 

She thinks Yue would love to meet Suki.

“Is this your map?” Suki asks, picking it up from where Katara had discarded it after her earlier failure to read it.

“It’s Sokka’s,” Katara replies, taking it and opening it to show her. “Aang and I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

Suki gives her a small smile. “First of all, you’re holding it upside down.”

Katara blinks, then looks down at the map. She flips it around, but the squiggles still look meaningless to her.

Suki laughs. “It’s a map of the Earth Kingdom.” She points at a lumpy shape at the bottom. “There, that’s Kyoshi island. See the shape of the cove?”

Katara blinks. With Suki’s help, she can sort of see it, but she still doesn’t get why there looks to be triangles covering the island.

“It’s no use,” she groans. “I don’t understand any of these symbols. Sokka was always in charge of navigation.”

Suki’s smile fades at the mention of Sokka. She takes the map, glancing it over. “Where were you headed?”

“Aang needs an earthbending teacher,” Katara replies. “There was a woman in the village we fled from - she told us she would pass that on to Zuko and Sokka. We’re hoping to meet up with them there, so Aang can get started with his training right away.”

Suki nods, eyes roaming the map. She glances up at her warriors, watching Aang wrap up his story. She seems to think for a long while, then nods sharply. “Okay. I’m coming with you.”

“You are?” Katara asks, surprised.

“You are?” Aang asks excitedly, having just finished telling his tale.

“You are?” One of the warriors asks, shocked.

Suki nods. “Neither of you can read a map, and Aang needs an earthbending teacher. You need me to help guide you through the earth kingdom.” She turns to the other women. “You guys will be fine without me.”

The two warriors stand up, and they and Suki all bow deeply to each other. “We wish you safe travels and easy victories,” one of the women says.

The serious moment dissolves seconds later as they all gather close for a group hug. Aang makes his way to Katara’s side, watching them.

“I feel bad, making her leave her people to help us,” he mutters.

“You didn’t make her, she chose to,” Katara reassures him. “Besides, she’s right. We do need her to help us get where we’re going.”

After the women separate, they all produce their own bedrolls and lay down by the fire. The evening is spent with stories and song, and Katara finds herself feeling hopeful for the future. Now that they have Suki on their side, they have a navigator and another fighter, so she can see her brother again that much sooner. She smiles to herself. She can’t wait to see his face when he arrives to see she’s brought with her the Kiyoshi Warrior he hadn’t been able to stop talking about the entire ride up to the Northern Water Tribe.

The next morning, Suki embraces her warriors once again, and they all help Aang and Katara load the supplies onto a rested and refreshed Appa. Aang and Katara hop on with practiced ease, and Suki climbs up with no trouble. As Appa lifts off into the air, the three of them wave down at the other Kyoshi Warriors until they are too small to be seen.

“This is pretty comfortable,” Suki says, leaning against the edge of the saddle. She seems perfectly at ease despite having never ridden a flying bison before. 

“That’s our Appa,” Aang says brightly, turning in his seat to face her. “Speedy, stylish, and soft.”

Katara pulls out the map of the Earth Kingdom they had been looking at the night before. “How long would you say it would take us to get there?”

Suki leans over to see what she’s looking at. “Depends. Where do you think you’ll find an earthbending teacher?”

“Where was it Zuko was talking about again?” Aang asks, nose scrunching as he tries to remember.

“We’re not going to Omashu?” Katara asks, surprised. 

Aang shakes his head. “It’s like I told the woman in the village. I need an earthbending teacher - a  _ real _ earthbending teacher. Bumi’s my friend, but - he’s king of Omashu, and old, and not the same Bumi he used to be. Zuko was right. I need an earthbender who can teach me to fight the Fire Lord, and there’s no better way to find one than an earthbending competition.”

Suki’s eyes light up. “I know exactly where you’d want to go, then.” She points at a spot on the map. “Next stop, Gaoling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise!
> 
> i hope you all are well


	4. quarto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: ive moved ! whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for my writing schedule remains to be seen. it is my excuse for this being so late though
> 
> in this chapter we get everything sorted and some balls rolling :3c

The ostrich horse is a sturdy beast, but after traveling most of the day, even at a steady pace, it has to rest. 

Zuko slides off easily, working out the stiffness in his legs. He might be used to long travel on ostrich horseback, but his body is not. Behind him, Sokka slides off and sits down on the ground, mumbling about how his legs hurt. Zuko ignores him, gently attending to the panting ostrich horse. 

Soothing their tired ride, Zuko takes stock of their situation. They don’t have much in the way of supplies, and, after eating nothing since breakfast that morning, his hunger is making itself known. His throat, too, is parched, but the clearing where he and Sokka had stopped is near the stream they had been following for some time now. 

“We need supplies, and soon,” Sokka says, echoing Zuko’s thoughts. He’s standing now, though his legs still seem to be a little wobbly. 

“If we keep following the river, we should come across a town soon enough,” Zuko replies.

Sokka sighs heavily. “Oh, to have the maps again,” he mutters. 

He makes his way to the stream and cups his hands together to hold the water. Zuko leads the ostrich horse over to let the animal drink, then ties its reins to a tree so it can still reach the water before drinking himself. 

The ostrich horse settles down to sleep, and Zuko leans against it. Sokka stares at him for a while before settling down on the other side of the ostrich horse. 

The sun sinks below the horizon, but Zuko can’t fall asleep. He tries, but every sound brings him to full alertness, and his hands twitch to reach for dual blades that are no longer there. 

He had left them behind, after his ship had exploded. He had been so focused on figuring things out when he had arrived in this time, and then on what he had needed to do, that he hadn’t even spared a thought to trying to replace them. He hadn’t until later the first time around, either, but he should know better now.

He misses them. Not only because it would be nice to have a weapon that isn’t firebending right now, but also because they had been  _ his _ dual blades. For a long time the first pair had been his sole possession in his banishment and the next pair in his later exile, and they were the only thing he had considered himself good at using. 

His leg shifts, jolting the knife in his boot, and he relaxes at its familiar weight. At least he had managed to keep that on him during the explosion. He knows his uncle is safe enough this time around, but he still misses him and is glad to have this little piece of him on his person.

“You awake?” Sokka asks quietly, jolting Zuko out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he responds, just as quietly. 

The ostrich horse snorts in its sleep between them.

There is a long silence, broken only by the faint sound of leaves in the wind.

Finally, Sokka speaks again. “I just - I wanted to apologize for what I said on the ship. Again.” He takes a shuddering breath. “It’s just - you’re the enemy, you know? And I have to protect my people, and protect Aang, and I can’t afford to be nice about it.”

“I understand,” Zuko replies, because he really does, in the end.

“I understand your side too, though.” There’s a rustling noise as Sokka shifts his position. “They’re your people, and you want to protect them, just like I want to protect mine. It’s just -”

“It’ll take time,” Zuko offers.

“It’ll take time,” Sokka echoes.

This is something that’s going to stay between them for a long while, Zuko knows, but he’s glad it’s out in the open now and they’re at least starting to talk about it. 

He knows Sokka will come to see the Fire Nation as he does, or close enough, one day. There’s plenty of time. 

Soon enough, he hears Sokka’s snores, and finds himself smiling. He remembers how that snoring had kept him up most of the night, but he realizes now that he had missed it. Something about Sokka, perfectly at ease and fast asleep near him, makes him feel relaxed. 

He falls asleep himself not long after. 

Zuko is awoken the next morning just as the run rises, and he stretches out his stiff muscles. Sokka is still asleep on the other side of the ostrich horse, so he leaves him be and goes to get more water. 

After taking a drink, he stares at his reflection, taking the time for the first time in a long time to look at himself. He had grown used to being in the past, but seeing himself at this time is somewhat jarring. His hair is still in its ponytail, though his scalp is covered with a faint buzz of hair as he hadn’t shaved it since he had woken up. The ends of the ponytail are starting to grow uneven as well, and the whole thing has become pretty greasy due to a lack of ability to wash it. 

“Mornin’,” Sokka says, joining him at the bank. 

“Morning,” Zuko replies, still staring at his reflection. 

He considers his options as Sokka takes a drink, then comes to a decision. He pulls out his knife and straightens out his ponytail, and with one slice it’s gone. He sighs. Last time this had meant something entirely different to him, and to his uncle. Last time he had been lost, and hurting, and had needed a new start. And even then it had taken him so long to find himself. Now, he knows who he is and what he wants, and he has been given a chance to do more than he had ever thought possible. 

He looks up at the sky where the moon is just barely visible in the morning sky and sends a silent thanks to a Yue of another time who had gifted him this second chance to make everything right. 

He turns to see Sokka watching him intently. 

“You cut your hair,” he says.

“Yes,” Zuko replies. He runs a hand over his scalp. The hair is very short and still somewhat uneven, but the ponytail is well and truly gone. “It was time for a change.”

Sokka nods slowly, then reaches up and undoes his own ponytail. Zuko goes to hand him the knife but he shakes his head. “In the Water Tribe, back home, Gran Gran always taught us the hair was the resting place of the soul.” He touches a hand to his loose hair, eyes unfocused, lost in his memories. “I - I’m still not sure how much I believe her old stories, but.” He shakes his head again. “It feels weird, even thinking about cutting it. Not like this.” He sends a half smile Zuko’s way. “But I can do a different hairstyle. This makes it harder for the Fire Nation to find us, too.”

Zuko returns the small smile and stores his knife back in his boot. He pats it once, to feel the familiar jostle of the sheath against his ankle, then pulls himself up to wake up the ostrich horse.

The first village the two of them come across is, thankfully, a good size and has a busy market. 

Sokka, who has gotten better at managing their ride throughout their two days of travel, is the one who ties the ostrich horse to a pole at the entrance to the village.

“We’ll come get you soon, Beaky,” Sokka coos, stroking the ostrich horse’s neck. 

The steed, unaware of his new moniker, lets out a huff.

“Did you seriously name him ‘Beaky’?” Zuko asks as the two of them head toward the market. 

“Yeah? And?” Sokka shakes his head. “It’s a perfectly good name! What, did you have a better one?”

“Uh -” Zuko is caught off guard. “Um… Ostrich Horse?”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “No imagination, honestly.”

Zuko is about to retort when he’s distracted by a glint of sunlight on metal. A nearby stall is selling weapons, and, proudly on display behind the merchant, is a pair of new-looking dual blades. 

“You would have thought that -” Sokka cuts himself off when he realizes Zuko has stopped walking. “What is it?”

Zuko tears his eyes away from the blades. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, really.” Sokka comes back to Zuko’s side to see what he had been looking at. “You were looking at weapons? I wouldn’t think you’d be that interested, considering you’re a -”

“I like to keep my options open,” Zuko interrupts, glancing worriedly around. No one seems to be paying them any mind, but an undercover firebender can never be too careful. 

Sokka pulls out the coin purse. They had been lucky Sokka had held onto it when they had gone to work on the fishing boat, and while they don't have supplies, at least they have coin to buy some with. “Let’s see… Between what we got from the last village and what we still have left over from the last time we were in the Earth Kingdom… Hm…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Zuko says again. “Supplies are more important. I don’t really need anything more right now.”

“This isn’t about you,” Sokka says, a gleam in his eyes. “I  _ never _ pass up a chance to go shopping for new weapons.”

He spins around and leans onto the counter, immediately engaging the merchant in chatter about his wares. Zuko returns his gaze to the dual blades. They seem well worn but recently sharpened, and the hilt has been rewrapped. 

“See something you like?” The merchant, finished with Sokka’s conversation, follows his gaze. “Ah, you have good taste. Those were in a right state not long ago, but I managed to get them back into working order.”

“How much?” Sokka asks, hefting the coin purse.

Zuko looks at him in surprise. “You don’t have to -”

“I insist -”

“My apologies, gentlemen.” The merchant interrupts them both. “These were mended on a buyer’s request, so they’re not for sale. I do have a variety of other wares that might interest you. Perhaps a knife?”

The merchant digs for one of his knives to display but Zuko is already turning away. 

“The craftsmanship of those blades is incredible,” Sokka says, and Zuko looks up in surprise.

Sokka is still looking at the dual swords, eyes wide. “Did you fix them up yourself?”

“I did,” the merchant replies, looking proud.

“Amazing! Your skill is the best I’ve ever seen, and I’ve traveled the entire Earth Kingdom!”

Zuko frowns. The skill is mediocre at best, and this version of Sokka hasn’t even been to Ba Sing Se yet. He wonders what the man is playing at.

The merchant seems to enjoy the flattery. “You do seem quite well traveled… The best you’ve ever seen, you say?”

“Yep!” Sokka smiles, a glint in his eye. “I’m one of the Avatar’s closest companions, you know.”

The merchant’s eyes grow wide. “You travel with the Avatar?” He looks around wildly. “Is he here? In our village?”

“He’s nearby,” Sokka says dismissively. “Another village needed his help, so he had to run. He sent us here to grab supplies.” He pats Zuko hard on the shoulder, and Zuko barely manages to stifle a jump in surprise. “This here is the Avatar’s personal weapons trainer, and we have been looking high and low for something to help in his battle against the Fire Lord.” Sokka heaves an exaggerated sigh and turns away, gripping Zuko’s shoulder more tightly and dragging him along. “Alas, it seems like we must take our business elsewhere. A pity, they were so well made, too…”

“Wait!” the merchant cries out, and Sokka flashes a victorious smile at Zuko before turning back.

The merchant has the swords off the wall and is holding a sheath in his other hand. “It would be the honor of a lifetime to serve the Avatar in his war against the Fire Nation. If you say he needs these, well, I - I suppose my client will just have to understand.”

“Your generosity is appreciated and you have the Avatar’s thanks,” Sokka says, pulling out the coin purse.

“No need,” the man says, holding the blades out to Zuko. “The Avatar’s thanks is payment enough.”

Zuko is surprised at this turn of events, but he takes the blades anyway, and the two of them hurry away before the merchant changes his mind.

“How did you know he would give them to us for free?” Zuko asks, astonished, as they stop to rest in an empty space between two stalls. He busies himself strapping the swords to his back, and relaxes at their familiar weight. They seem relatively well balanced, almost exactly like the ones he had picked up the last time he had been wandering the Earth Kingdom. It feels good to be armed again.

Sokka’s eyes are still wide with shocked excitement. “I didn’t expect them  _ for free, _ but throwing Aang’s name around works wonders in the Earth Kingdom.” He pauses, excitement faltering. “At least, usually…”

Zuko thinks back to the captain of the fishing boat and his mood falls as well. The mention of Aang brings with it another pang of worry for him. Katara is an excellent warrior in her own right, and Aang can hold himself in a fight, but he doesn’t like not knowing where they are or what they’re doing and being entirely unable to help.

“Well, it worked this time,” Zuko replies. 

Sokka shoots him a grin. “I just hope you actually know how to use them.”

“I do,” Zuko replies defensively.

Sokka’s eyes are gleaming with excitement once again. “Man, I should’ve gotten  _ myself _ a sword.”   
Zuko remembers daily challenges, his dual blades against a solid black shortsword. “You would be very good at it,” he says.

Sokka’s eyebrows fly up and he turns away, face hidden. “Let’s - let’s just go get our supplies.”

Zuko follows as Sokka hurries away. He wonders at his strange behavior, but soon lets it go as the two of them focus on their task.

When the sun begins to set, Sokka leaves to book a room at the inn while Zuko takes some coins to buy their ostrich horse, who he refuses to call by Sokka’s given name, feed for the evening. As he makes his purchase and heads towards the entrance to the village, another stall catches his eye. This one sells theater supplies, and the table is covered in a variety of masks. 

Zuko gets closer to examine them, and a flash of blue catches his eye. 

Innocently sitting in the middle of the masks that cover the table is the Blue Spirit mask. It looks slightly different, as masks for plays tend to, but the features are recognizable. 

“How much?” Zuko asks the merchant. 

She looks up from a scroll she’s reading. “Hm? For that mask?” She leans closer. “Ah, the Blue Spirit mask. You really want that? Not many are interested these days with the Fire Nation looking for someone wearing it.”

Zuko considers. He had cast this persona away at Lake Laogai, choosing instead to live true to himself, but having another identity may come in handy now, while he’s back to traveling the Earth Kingdom. 

“Eh, if you want it, just take it,” the woman huffs out a sigh. “I doubt I’m going to be able to sell it anytime soon.”

“Are - are you sure?” Zuko asks. He already feels bad enough getting his swords for free. 

The woman waves her hand dismissively. “Like I said, the Fire Nation is asking too many questions about this mask for my tastes. I don’t have any use for it. In fact -” She digs around the masks for a while and produces a red mask of the same pattern. “Take this one too. No one else seems to want these designs.”

Zuko takes them, still shaken, and bows in thanks. The woman just waves her hand at him again. “I hope you have better luck with your play or whatever than I had trying to sell them.”

Zuko thanks her again, then continues on his way. 

He hides the red mask in the ostrich horse’s saddlebags, but holds the blue mask for a while, pondering it. This identity of his had caused him strife, but it had been freeing, in its own way. While wearing it he could finally leave behind his titles and his worries and be someone completely different. It had taught him much, during the times he had worn it, about himself and about the world. Maybe this time around he can learn something new.

He runs his hand over it gently, and places it with its twin, then turns to go back to Sokka.

He has somewhat of a crazy plan to propose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a note on sokka's hair: this is a belief of the alutiiq people, who are an indiginous alaskan group !


	5. quinto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeehaw !

Katara is dozing on Appa’s saddle when she’s awoken by a shout from Aang. Instantly, her eyes fly open and she rushes to where he’s looking out over the edge.

“What is it?” Suki asks from Appa’s reins. She had taken to it very quickly, and both Katara and Aang are relieved to have a third driver in the rotation again. 

“Look,” Aang says, pointing out into the mass of trees beneath them. “It looks like a fire!”

As he speaks, Katara’s eyes catch what he had seen. A thick line of smoke is rising above the treeline. It looks like a lot of fire has been spreading, and very recently.

“Is it the Fire Nation?” Suki asks, turning to look as well.

“Probably,” Katara says, squinting to try to see better. 

“Whether it’s the Fire Nation or just a fire that’s gotten out of control, they could use waterbending help!” Aang says excitedly. His smile falters seconds later. “But we might put them in more danger if we go there…”

Katara’s heart goes out to the little airbender. He has always loved helping people when he could, and the incident at the last village had really shaken him. 

“We should still try to help them,” Katara says, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“You’re the Avatar,” Suki pipes up. “You help people no matter the consequences.”

“I don’t know,” Aang says slowly. “That last village we were in, the Fire Nation never would have come to if I hadn’t gone there.” He looks up, eyes wide. “And your village too! Zuko wouldn’t have come and burned it if I hadn’t gone there either. I wanted to help, but all I did was bring the Fire Nation to your door.”

Suki turns fully around in her seat. “We stayed out of the war for decades, and didn’t get attacked by the Fire Nation because of it. But in the process, we left the rest of the Earth KIngdom to fight off the Fire Nation on their own. You were the one who showed us we can’t hide away and pretend there’s no war going on, and because of you my warriors are out there right now, helping people. Some of our buildings burned? Buildings can be replaced. But people? People who need our help? They can’t.”

Aang’s face turns determined and he nods sharply. “You - you’re right. I can’t stop helping people because I’m afraid of the Fire Nation. The only way the Fire Nation will stop putting people in danger is if I defeat the Fire Lord. So before I can do that, while I’m still learning the elements, I need to help as many people as I can!” 

“That’s right!” Katara says. “It might not feel like much, and some people might not seem grateful, but remember all those places we helped before the village? Remember all the people you saved? Even if sometimes it might not feel like it, you’ve already changed so many lives.”

Aang shoots her a small grin. “Thank you, both of you. I still feel bad… But I can’t let that stop me from saving people in need. Let’s go put out these fires.”

Suki grins at him before turning and guiding Appa toward the smoke.

As they get closer, Katara notices that it isn’t a village, as she had previously thought. She sees a field, and a pair of small buildings in the center, both on fire. A farm, she concludes.

She looks around for people, and her eyes widen when she spots them. With Appa directly overhead, she can see a man and a woman, clutching a child close to them as they cower beside the burning buildings. A loose cluster of figures in Fire Nation armor are blocking their exit, and Katara can hear their laughter. 

“We have to save them!” she cries. 

Aang is already on it, leaping from the saddle to touch down with a burst of air, knocking the soldiers back and putting out some of the flames in the process. 

Suki sets Appa down and she and Katara leap off as well, running into the fray as the soldiers shift their attention to attacking Aang. 

Katara draws water from the skin on her hip to lash out at the nearest firebender, who is getting over his surprise at their entrance and is gearing up to attack her. He’s standing next to a blaze, likely one he stared, and as the water throws him back, it splashes over the fire and the flames die out. 

Immediate danger taken care of, Katara takes a second to survey the battlefield. The flames, thankfully, appear worse than they actually are. The wheat and hay have caught fire, and are unsalvageable, which is unfortunate for the family who lives here, but the main structure of the house and barn seem no worse for wear. If they can keep the firebenders from setting anything else ablaze, there won’t be much damage. 

Katara turns her attention to the firebenders themselves. There’s a small group of them, and most of them are focused on Aang, who is holding his own with a mix of air- and waterbending attacks. 

Suki has positioned herself between the family and the remaining firebenders, and is engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the four of them. Katara casts one last look at Aang, who is keeping his firebenders at arms’ length just fine, and jumps in to help Suki. 

She uses another water whip to knock back a soldier encroaching on Suki’s blind spot, then ducks out of the way of a stray burst of flame as she makes her way closer. The other firebenders notice her arrival and she finds herself back to back with Suki, trying to find a gap in the barrage of fireballs to get a good whack of her water in.

Suki manages to push forward and knock her current opponent into the other two, and as they sort themselves out, Katara uses her water to knock them as far away from the family as she can. 

She gives them a nod as they release themselves from their tense, crouched position, then she and Suki rush to finish off the rest of the soldiers. Aang has done a number on them, and Suki and Katara are quick to knock a few more back. 

Realizing they’re not doing very well in this fight, the soldiers pick themselves up off the ground and begin to turn and run, leaving fire blazing behind them. Katara turns to put out the last of the flames while Suki and Aang take care of the stragglers. 

As the last firebender disappears down the road, Aang turns to the woman. “What happened here?” 

She shakes her head. “They were just passing through and wanted a free meal, and they didn’t take our refusal very well.”

“Passing through? Do you know where they were headed?” Aang asks.

As the woman and her husband exchange a glance, worry grows in Katara’s heart. She knows what is going to be said almost before the woman says it. “They were looking for you.”

Aang’s eyes go wide, and his face twists in pain briefly, then he smooths out his expression and bows deeply. “I am so, so sorry. It’s my fault they -”

“It’s not your fault,” Katara says, grabbing him into a hug. “It’s not your fault.”

“She’s right,” the man says, eyebrows drawn together in worry. “It’s not your fault they came this way, and it’s not your fault they attacked us. We stood up to them because of all we heard about you saving lives in our kingdom. You inspired us.”

“Thank you!” the child pipes up, and reaches up to gently pull on Aang’s sleeve. 

Aang leans over to look at her from Katara’s hold, and a watery smile makes its way on his face. Katara is relieved. Aang has always liked children, and the girl’s joy helps boost his mood. 

The family invites them for a meal, and, after making sure it’s no burden on their recently attacked supplies, Aang cautiously accepts. 

Katara watches him as he plays with the child, seemingly carefree.

“It’s good for him to remember to be a kid every so often,” she comments to Suki.

“It’s good for all of us,” the Kyoshi warrior answers solemnly. “We’re all kids. We might be great warriors, we might be fighting to save the world, but at the end of the day, we’re still kids.”

Katara sighs. It’s sometimes hard to remember that, after all the hardships she and the others face every day, but it is true.

“Would you like to stay the night?” the woman asks as the sun sinks on the horizon.

Aang shakes his head. “I wouldn’t want to trouble you any more than -”

“Nonsense,” says the man. “You saved us. I’m sure you’re anxious to get going, but you should rest the night at least.”

Aang glances at Katara, and when she nods, he agrees. It’s nice to sleep indoors without the threat of attack, even if the barn is dingy and still smells somewhat like smoke. As they travel further and the Fire Nation’s influence grows wider, she wonders how many more nights like this she’ll get.

Aang is out like a light, but Katara notices Suki sitting up by the window.

“Do we really need a watch tonight?” she asks softly, mostly joking.

Suki turns back and Katara can just barely see her smile in the moonlight. “I just wanted some time to think.”

“Oh - Sorry if I disturbed you -”

Suki shakes her head. “No, it’s fine. You can join me, if you like.”

Katara makes her way over to the window and looks out. The moon shines above their heads, not quite full, and Katara’s thoughts are pulled toward a girl so far away, with pale hair and blue eyes.  _ Yue… _ Katara hopes she’s well, and safe. She wishes she had some way of communicating, but unlike the Fire Nation’s hawks, the Water Tribes have no way of sending messages to each other these days. Maybe they had, once, but a long separation and the North’s increasing isolation had cut off all contact between the sister tribes. 

“The stars are so different here,” Suki murmurs, jolting Katara out of her thoughts.

“Do you regret leaving your island?” she asks, curious.

Suki smiles. It’s a little sad. “I miss my home,” she says, “And I miss the others. I even miss my girls. But I can never regret helping. Even if I just saved one single life, that’s one person the Fire Nation couldn’t get to. I’m fighting so that I  _ can _ go home, and that my home is safe for me and everyone else. So that everyone can go home safely.”

Suki takes a deep breath. “I hope we find Sokka soon,” she says.

“Oh?” Katara’s eyebrows shoot up. Speaking of Sokka and Suki, if she isn’t mistaken, they had shared a kiss back at Kyoshi Village, hadn’t they? “You want to reconnect with Sokka, then?”

Suki lets out a small laugh, catching on to her thought process. “Maybe. I don’t know. We - we didn’t think we’d ever see each other again, at least anytime soon. Now - now I have no idea what we are.” She shrugs. “Maybe he’s found someone else.”

Katara thinks about Sokka’s current traveling companion and shudders at that thought. “I’d say you still have a chance.”

Suki chuckles. “Well, maybe I’ll find someone else. Who knows?”

Katara laughs as well. “I wonder what Aang’s earthbending teacher will be like,” she says, wanting to change the subject from her brother’s relationship prospects.

Suki’s eyes glimmer as if she knows exactly what Katara had been doing. “Based on my experience with earthbenders? Probably a stubborn asshole. He and Aang are going to either hate each other, or become a terrifying force to be reckoned with.”

Katara glances back at Aang’s sleeping form. “I feel like we’re moving a bit fast with the elements. We left the Water Tribe before he could get much more than a basic grasp of waterbending, and now we’re jumping right into earthbending.”

Suki hums. “I know Avatars normally take the time to master every element before moving on to the next, but these are extenuating circumstances. Besides, he’ll be fine at waterbending. He has you.”

“Me?” Katara has never considered herself much more than a temporary teacher for Aang before. She had taught him what she could from her experience and the scroll, but had always intended to get him professional training at the Northern Water Tribe. When that had been cut short thanks to the invasion and their need to flee, she had thought his training in waterbending was as good as finished. What more can she teach him?

“I might not be any sort of expert at waterbending.” Suki shrugs. “I’ve honestly never really seen anyone do it before I met you guys. But I know a natural bender when I see one. One thing Avatar Kyoshi made sure everyone on our island remembers is that truly great warriors don’t rely on how things are supposed to be done, but that we are able to come up with new and better ways of doing things. And I think you’re like that. You might not have the formal training you want, but you know your element.”

“Oh -” Katara looks away, back at the moon. She had been worried that she had lost her chance at real waterbending since leaving the North Pole, but she dares to consider that maybe Suki is right. Maybe she can be her own version of a master.

“I know Aang’s excited about earthbending,” she says eventually. “But I’m going to get him working at waterbending again while we get there.”

Suki smiles. “That I’d love to see. I’ve seen enough earthbenders train to last a lifetime, but never waterbending.”

“How long to Gaoling?”

Suki ponders. “Less than a week, I think.”

Katara nods, and looks back into the sky. “I hope Aang had fun here, because he’s got a lot of training coming his way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now back to my regularly scheduled hiatus ahaha.... just kidding ! unless


	6. sexto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha sexto. this means nothing in regards to the story but im also 12
> 
> im really trying not to make you guys wait a month between chapters but i absolutely have no concept of time. 
> 
> you guys are so sweet with your comments i love you so much they really make my day and get me motivated to at least bang out some sentences. anyway here's your favorite idiots again enjoy !

Zuko peeks around the corner of a building to check if the coast is clear, then motions for Sokka to follow as he darts along the wall to the next spot of cover. 

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Sokka mutters, voice muffled by his mask.

Zuko puts a finger to the lips of his own mask. Sokka isn’t bad at stealth, per se, but he would be better if he stopped making snide comments every few minutes.

Sokka grumbles something under his breath, but, thankfully, this time it’s quiet enough Zuko can’t make out the words. He’ll take what he can get. 

The alleyway runs out of conveniently placed shadows, so Zuko scales the wall to get to the roof. Behind him he hears a muffled swear and then scrabbling as Sokka attempts to follow him. At the edge of the roof Sokka slips, and Zuko grabs him and heaves him the rest of the way before he can even think about it.

He can’t see Sokka’s eyes, but from the way the man stills and the mask turns toward him, he knows Sokka is frowning at him in confusion. 

Zuko decides to ignore that for now and leans over the edge of the roof to check out the scene below. 

Two Earth Kingdom guards are standing at the entrance to the storeroom. Neither of them seem particularly attentive, the both of them leaning against the doorframe and chatting. In the square before them, a few scattered villagers still mill about, and a few other guards pass by on various patrol routes. 

Zuko waits for an opening, and finds it as the last of the villagers trickle out of the square. It’s getting late, and most of them just want to get home to their families. The guards take a little while longer to clear out, but with less people out and about, they don’t need to be as alert as before. 

Sokka shifts beside him, unused to crouching in a tense position for a long period of time. Zuko has never been particularly patient himself, so he understands. When he deems it safe to move, he nods, and the two of them slide down into the neighboring alleyway and circle the square, using the cover of shadows. They reach an alleyway beside the storeroom and duck down it, the guards lost in a conversation about the Earth Rumble prospects.

Zuko misses Toph with a vengeance, briefly, before he pushes that thought aside to focus on the job.

Sokka is already beside the window they had staked out earlier in the day, head tilted, clearly wondering why Zuko has suddenly dropped behind. Zuko shakes his head at him, and Sokka shrugs before gently easing the window open. The two of them slip carefully inside.

The inside of the storeroom holds no surprises. Rows of food line the walls, all of it neatly packaged in the barrels or crates that had transported it to the village. 

Sokka notices the trapdoor first, and gently nudges Zuko to point it out. It’s almost hidden in the dirt floor, clearly made from earthbending. Zuko uses the hilt of one of his new blades to pull it open, and the pair of them peer down into the darkness. 

Zuko is tempted to light a fire. The old fear and uncertainty surrounding his element have faded now, and he feels more at peace with it than he can remember ever feeling, but something still stays his hand.

Since joining forces, he hasn't never firebended in front of this version of Sokka. Despite their camaraderie, he isn’t quite sure how he’ll react. He isn’t sure if he’s ready to find out.

The bags of rice they’re looking for, thankfully, are visible with only the light of the lanterns in the storeroom. This hidden room is not very large, only useful for storing items like this. Items the guard doesn’t want the public to know they have. 

Sokka looks at him. He can’t see the man’s eyes through the mask, but he can sense the hesitation. 

Zuko nods in what he hopes is a reassuring fashion. They are doing something good here, something to help the people of this small Earth Kingdom town. 

Sokka’s shoulders heave in a silent sigh, and then he starts to grab at bags of rice.

Zuko holds out a hand to stop him. No use wasting his strength now, their chance will come in three… Two… 

A second earlier than he had anticipated, there’s the sound of a loud crash outside in the square. One of the guards swears loudly, and Zuko and Sokka can hear them leave their posts. Zuko heaves as many bags as he can carry into his arms, and Sokka follows suit. They have to leave a couple bags behind, but what they can carry is enough. They push through the front doors to see the guards on the other side of the square, one attempting to put out a small fire and the other lecturing an unimpressed young woman.

Sokka is already making his way down the alleyway, so Zuko hurries after him. Before long they’ve reached the house they had started from, and the door opens to a wide-eyed old man. He looks behind them, worried, but his tense posture relaxes when he sees they’re alone. He steps back to let them in.

Zuko lets the rice bags fall to the ground, and rolls his shoulders.

The man counts the bags of rice, and then raises a hand to his head. “Incredible. I cannot thank you enough.”

“Your daughter -” Sokka starts, and the man gasps.

“She’s still out there!” His hands fly to his hair. “Oh no, I should never have let her do this, she’ll be -”

Zuko stops him with a hand on his shoulder. The man freezes and looks into his eyes as best he can with the mask. Zuko says nothing, but he nods, and the man relaxes in understanding. 

Zuko turns and vaults out the window, leaving Sokka to let out a shout of surprise before following. Zuko makes the jump cleanly, but Sokka almost trips on his landing. He catches himself by grabbing Zuko’s arm, and Zuko just stares down at him, head tilted.

“Sor- _ ry," _ Sokka grumbles, and then the two of them hurry back toward the square.

The situation has devolved into a full-blown fight. The two guards are trying to circle the woman, but she’s keeping them at a distance. Apparently, only one of the guards can earthbend, but clearly not well. 

Zuko draws his swords and blends into the shadows. The guards’ attention is entirely focused on their quarry, so the earthbender doesn’t even notice anything until he has both swords around the man’s throat.

The man freezes with a gasp of surprise, and the shifting tiles of the square halt in their movements.

“Hey!” shouts the other guard, making a move towards the pair, but Sokka cuts him off with a dagger to his throat. He freezes as well, eyes growing wide. 

The scene is silent for a few tense moments, and then the young woman realizes what’s happened and lets out a burst of laughter. The guards are left with no choice but to watch her run off into the night. 

Zuko holds his position until he’s sure she’s gone, then slides his swords away. He retreats as stealthily as he can, melting into the shadows and scaling the side of a building. He sees Sokka across the square, disappearing into the alleyway opposite the one they had come out from. 

Zuko jumps across the rooftops, reveling in the familiar freedom. Something about a mask and the open sky has always appealed to him, a space where he can be alone and unknowable. Here he isn’t Prince Zuko, or the refugee Li, or the Avatar’s firebending teacher. Here he’s no one, just a shadow under the moonlight.

He stalls in his mad dash to look up. The moon is half full, and although he knows Yue is safe in the North, he sends out a silent thanks to her. He wonders what the moon spirit, the real one, thinks about his being here. The ocean spirit, for his part, had seemed interested in what would happen, the changes he would make.

Zuko chuckles to himself. Changes, indeed.

“What’re you staring up there for?” Sometime during Zuko’s musings, Sokka had climbed onto the roof to stand next to him.

Zuko looks over to see the red mask tilted inquisitively, the wood hiding Sokka’s expression. 

“Nothing, just thinking,” he replies after an awkward pause. His voice feels too loud in the silence of the night.

Sokka shrugs, and then leads the way across the rooftops in a winding loop back around to the old man’s house. His steps have grown surer over the course of the night, and Zuko feels a touch of pride. Sokka had never done this kind of thing in either timeline, to his knowledge, but he’s picking it up like a pro. 

The pair of them slip through the window. Just in time, it seems, as the second they close the slats behind them, they hear the sounds of guards marching past in a frenzied search.

“Looks like you two made it back in one piece.” The young woman is lounging on a pile of rice bags, taking a rest after her mad escape. 

“Minji, get off there,” the old man scolds gently. He’s sorting the bags out for distribution in the morning, Zuko notes. 

“Fine, fine,” Minji grumbles, sliding off her perch and making her way across the room. “What a night, right?” She elbows Sokka in the side. “Will you show me your faces now?”

Sokka glances at Zuko, then shakes his head. “Sorry. Still too risky.”

Zuko is glad Sokka’s still willing to keep up with their disguises, considering the lengthy argument that had prefaced their use in the first place. Sokka still doesn’t really see the purpose of hiding his face, but Zuko is concerned about being recognized. If either of them are to be linked to the Avatar, he wants it to be on his own terms.

What they’re doing in this town is important, but it does involve pissing off Earth Kingdom authorities. Zuko thinks Aang wouldn’t be too happy about that, even if he would approve of helping the townspeople. Best that this whole mess be linked to the Blue Spirit instead, who already has a complicated reputation. 

“Did we get enough?” Sokka asks. 

Minji glances over her shoulder. “Oh, more than enough. They really had all this down there, huh?”

“Under a trapdoor, too.” Sokka shakes his head. “But, sure, they were going to distribute it eventually.” 

Minji chuckles. “Well, I really can’t thank you enough. I’m glad I ran into you guys when I did, otherwise I doubt we’d ever have made it.”

Zuko nods in response, then turns to leave. He doesn’t want to overstay their welcome. 

“You sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” the old man asks.

Sokka seems like he’s going to say yes, but Zuko grabs him and pulls him to the window with him. Best not to stay too long. If they hurry, they can get spotted in another part of the city and draw all suspicion away from this house.

“Bye,” Sokka manages to get out before following Zuko out of the house and up onto the roof. 

“Man, you really like climbing up here, don’t you,” he grumbles.

The two of them take off running yet again, jumping over an alleyway right over the heads of a group of angry guards. Zuko can tell they’re spotted as the angry grumbling turns into full-on shouts, but by then he and Sokka are already several rooftops away.

They make it to the point where the rooftops are no longer close enough to each other to make for effective travel, and slide down to travel the rest of the way out of the town on foot. 

They run until they’ve reached the clearing where they left the ostrich horse, then collapse to the ground, both breathing hard. The little fire they had built before leaving earlier in the night is still going strong, thankfully. The evening had been strenuous for both of them, regardless of the endurance they had started with.

Sokka throws his mask off and breathes in gulps of air, then lets out a whoop, falling backwards to lay on the ground. Zuko is momentarily worried, then reassures himself they’re far enough into the woods that no one can hear him. He takes his own mask and can’t help the quirk of his lip at Sokka’s massive smile.

“That was  _ awesome!" _ Sokka gasps. “I can’t believe we pulled that off. And your sneaking skills! Man, I never knew you could move like that.”

“You did well, yourself,” Zuko replies.

Sokka’s cheeks go red. “Really? You think so?”

“You’re a natural.”

Sokka turns away to hide his face and is silent for a long moment. Zuko’s good spirits vanish. Has he said something wrong? 

After a pause where Zuko tries desperately to find something to apologize for and fix their friendship, Sokka rolls back over to face him. He doesn’t seem angry, but Zuko still worries.

“Here,” Sokka says, and sits upright to pull out the dagger and hand it back.

It’s the same one that Iroh had given him, long ago. The dagger that had gotten him through so much, last time. Sokka had borrowed it for the evening, his usual club and boomerang too recognizable as Water Tribe weaponry. Zuko had told him to return it in one piece, but now he hesitates. Then, “Keep it.”

“Huh?”

“Read the inscription,” he explains. 

Sokka frowns down at the blade, and Zuko grabs his hand to flip it over before he reads the wrong side. “Oh - ‘Never give up without a fight’?”

Zuko nods. Sokka stares at him for a long while, face unreadable, then gently puts the knife away. “I’ll take good care of it,” he says, serious in a way he rarely is. 

“Thank you,” Zuko says softly. 

He stands to get on the other side of the ostrich horse, as Sokka has already claimed this side. The two of them have slept with the beast between them every night in their travels, and he’s used to the distance by now. He understands Sokka is still wary, and doesn’t want to push his luck. They had been switching off who slept closest to the fire, and tonight is Sokka’s turn.

This time, he’s stopped by a hand grabbing his sleeve. Sokka looks up at him with a deep blush for some indescribable reason, and shifts aside so there’s room beside him. Zuko stares down at him for a minute, then hesitantly settles down, waiting for Sokka to shift away. 

He doesn’t.

Zuko finds himself lying back to back with Sokka, almost touching. 

He feels a warmth in his heart, something separate from the heat of the flames, and wonders at it for a brief moment before the excitement of the night catches up to him and he finds himself asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not gonna make promises i cant keep but here's hoping for another chapter before november you guys deserve it <3
> 
> next chapter i think we're gonna need a new character tag so get hype......


	7. septimo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys ! ive been brain dead for the past month. but i have a response paper to write so i wrote this instead. my semester's almost over so i have space in my brain for atla again :)

Katara’s first impression of Gaoling is that it looks exactly like every other Earth Kingdom town she had passed through.

After all the buildup, she had expected something bigger, or more interesting, or just something more. As it stands, the only thing that seems to stick out is the massive arena building.

She finds it incredibly ugly and crude. But who is she to judge?

Aang had disappeared immediately after landing conspicuously in the middle of the town square, and Suki and Katara had spent a good hour frantically searching for him until he had reappeared, not seeming to notice their concern, three tickets to the Earth Rumble in hand. 

Katara had never really been excited for the earthbending championships, and walking into the arena only reinforces her disinterest. She thinks Sokka would have loved it, though, and misses him fiercely.

She reassures herself that he’s on his way. Appa is faster than anyone traveling on the ground, even if Sokka and Zuko have some sort of transportation. She knows the best option is to go ahead and let Aang find his earthbending teacher while they wait so they can make the most of their time here, but she really, really wishes her brother were here. 

The three of them find seats in the front row, Aang bouncing in excitement and Katara exchanging a look with Suki. She knows the other woman has also noticed how every other guest is sitting further back in the stands, but Aang wants to be close to the action, so they sit on either side of him and say nothing. 

The matches begin, and Katara starts to warm up to the idea of an earthbending tournament. Everyone who competes, winner or loser, uses their element in an entirely new way she had never seen before, or thought was even possible. She begins to wonder if she can adapt her waterbending to be versatile like this, and then wishes there was a similar competition for waterbenders.

Perhaps, after all this is over, she can present the idea to Yue. She knows the woman would love the idea. 

Katara is jolted out of her thoughts by Suki grabbing her by the shoulder and yanking her out of the way of a large boulder as it flies into the stands, right into where she had just been sitting.

“I guess that’s why no one’s sitting this close,” Suki mutters, and Katara hums, eyes wide.

Aang, invested in the match before him, doesn’t even seem to have noticed.

Katara turns her attention back to the tournament, on higher alert for flying earth. Sokka would have adored this, she thinks again. She resolves to take him once they’ve reunited. 

A man dubbed “the Boulder” seems to be standing out, taking out opponent after opponent with relative ease. Aang seems to enjoy watching him fight, and he certainly is powerful, but based on how he’s acting, Katara isn’t so sure he’s the best choice as a teacher. 

She doesn’t really think Bumi would have been much better, though, so she holds out that Zuko’s idea will still work out for them.

The announcer then introduces the reigning champion, the Blind Bandit. As the contender enters the ring, Katara leans forward in her seat. It’s - it seems to be a little girl. This match should be interesting.

She’s quickly proven right. The girl defeats the Boulder with ease, barely even seeming to move in response to his attacks and hitting him back with barely a twitch of her fingers. 

Aang certainly seems to be impressed, leaning forward in her own seat. Suki has a smirk on her face, leaning back as if unconcerned with the match, but Katara can tell she’s watching the girl with interest. 

After the Blind Bandit is declared winner to thunderous applause, the announcer calls out for anyone interested in challenging her. Katara glances at Suki, thinking it’s about time for them to leave, but Suki is giving Aang a nudge toward the ring. Before Katara can stop him, he’s jumping out of his seat, shouting, “Me! I’ll face her!”

As he launches himself over the chasm to face the reigning champion, Suki explains, “It’s the best way to ask her to be his teacher, we don’t know where she’ll be after this.”

Katara concedes, knowing getting Aang an earthbending teacher as soon as possible was the goal of this whole venture, but she still watches him with worry.

The match begins. The Blind Bandit does well, especially since Aang isn’t trying to fight her so much as get closer to her and ask her to be his teacher. He uses airbending to dodge her attacks and flit closer, and Katara can just barely hear his voice over the shouting of the crowd. It seems no one usually challenges the reigning champion. 

The fight ends, however, with Aang sweeping her away with a burst of air. The Blind Bandit’s eyes are wide in surprise, and Katara is shocked to notice they seem pale and milky. Is the “blind” part of Blind Bandit more than just a title?

“I just want to talk to you!” Aang calls out.

The girl picks herself off the ground. “Leave me alone!” She opens a door in the side of the arena with earthbending and disappears. 

Aang makes to chase after her, but the announcer grabs his arm to announce him victor. 

Suki uses some of their winnings to buy them a room at an inn, and the three of them sit around the small table, picking at their dinner and going over strategies for getting back in touch with the Blind Bandit. Aang is pretty set on having her as his teacher, and Katara is inclined to agree. The way she had moved out there… Of all the unique forms of earthbending she had seen that night, the Blind Bandit’s had been the most interesting. Especially coupled with the fact that Katara suspected she may actually be blind. An earthbending teacher so in tune with her element would certainly give them an edge over the Fire Nation.

She’s also a little happy to have another girl join their little team, rather than an old man. 

She still wishes Sokka were here to weigh in. Zuko, she thinks, would be in favor, as he had pointed them toward the Blind Bandit in the first place, even though he had no way of knowing about her specifically. She silently thanks him anyway. 

Aang lets out a huff, bringing her attention back to the conversation. “When’s the next Earth Rumble? Couldn’t we just try again then?”

“We could,” Suki replies, “But the next one isn’t until next month.”

“We don’t have that kind of time.” Katara sighs. “Maybe we could ask someone else where she might have gone?”

That turns out to be a bust, as none of the earthbenders they find training in the arena the next morning seem to have any idea who the Blind Bandit is outside of her persona, let alone where she might be.

“She just shows up when she’s supposed to,” the announcer explains, “And then disappears again when it’s all over.”

Katara’s second idea, to ask the local earthbending teachers about the Blind Bandit, also turns up nothing of importance. Most of them have never taken part in the Earth Rumble, and had never even heard of the girl. The only teacher who had is no more help than the other Earth Rumble contestants. 

“How am I ever gonna get her to be my earthbending teacher now?” Aang asks with a groan.

“If you’re looking for a teacher, I’m doing lessons for beginners later this afternoon,” the man says. “Here - I’ll even give you a discount.” He hands them a flyer and returns to his school. 

The three of them look it over. 

“It’s better than nothing,” Suki says eventually.

“Why don’t we give it a try, just for today?” Katara gives Aang a small smile. “We can keep looking, and you can start practicing.”

Aang seems reluctant, but he agrees to go to the first lesson, at least. He seems very much set on having the Blind Bandit as a teacher now, and Katara honestly agrees. But an earthbending teacher is an earthbending teacher, and they’re getting nowhere in their search.

After a quick lunch, they return to the school, and Aang disappears inside after Suki briefly haggles with the teacher. 

The two women linger outside, watching the proceedings. The children are given rocks and instructed to launch them at each other, and poor Aang tries his best, but is unable to make his move at all. 

“We’ll find her,” Suki says, reassuringly. “There can’t be too many places for a master earthbender to hide out.”

Katara is about to reply when she feels a rock hit her in the side. She whirls around to see a carriage on the street behind her, one of its wheels seemingly caught in mud. The ostrich horse tied to the front is scrabbling at the ground, making noises of distress and kicking up the stones that line the street, likely the origin of what had hit her. A man dressed in a guard uniform is trying unsuccessfully to lift the carriage, while a woman dressed in a fine green dress leans out the window to berate his efforts.

“Do you need help?” Katara asks, hurrying over, Suki right behind.

“Oh -” the guard turns around, eyes wide. “Uh -” He is clearly unsure, but Suki ignores him and positions herself at the back of the carriage to help lift. Katara moves to the side, just under the window where the woman is watching them, frowning deeply at the proceedings. 

Between the three of them, they manage to lift the carriage enough out of the rut that the confused ostrich horse is able to move again. The creature jolts the carriage out of the mud and back onto the solid street, leaving the guard to scramble back into the driver’s seat. The woman huffs and pulls herself back inside. As Katara steps away, she catches sight of the inside of the carriage. The woman is settling in the seat with a sigh, leaning back to reveal a small girl in a pale green dress, hair tied in an intricate bun. The girl turns toward Katara and she catches sight of her eyes, wide and milky and very familiar.

Katara smiles as the carriage pulls away. 

_ Found you. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and scene! hope you enjoyed! your comments make my day every day and keep me pushing myself to write for you because i have so many ideas for this story in my head and i want you all to get to see them ! :D i hope i dont take a whole month to finish this time well see lol. a lot less stress is taking over my life tho if you know what i mean


	8. octo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyoo ! i think you will like this one. hopefully it was worth the wait?
> 
> the semester is finally over so i have the time to devote to this story which is always in my brain i promise you. i have the next few chapters largely written so im hoping to get back on a weekly schedule so i give myself buffer time. that has a 50/50 chance of working but you'll have a short wait for the next few chapters at least. and things are picking up and im getting into the points i want to hit so hopefully that plus more free time means i can get you what you want faster.
> 
> edit: updated tags as requested. i usually wait until its explicit but honestly we all know where this is going...

Zuko glances at the sky, trying to gauge their position. He knows vaguely that they’re getting closer to Omashu, but it’s been a while since they’ve come across a village and he doesn’t know the terrain enough to be sure. The Blue and Red Spirits had been helping out quite a few places on their journey, and now he and Sokka have plenty of supplies and coin to last them this final trek, even if they don’t find anything else before they reach the city. 

He hadn’t been asking for gifts this time, but the people they had helped had been so grateful and had made him accept their gratitude no matter how much he had protested. He thinks about the last time he had traveled the Earth Kingdom, and regrets how he had treated the people. He had been shown so much kindness, which had confused him, but that didn’t excuse how he had acted in return. This time around, he makes sure to return that same kindness as best as he can. He’s a little rusty, but he likes to think he’s getting better.

He’s yanked back into the present when Sokka suddenly leans back, bumping his nose. The man doesn’t even notice, settling his back against Zuko’s chest with a deep sigh. He’s started letting Sokka take the reins and get some practice, but Sokka apparently finds it more boring than sitting behind Zuko and doing nothing. Zuko suspects it’s because that way he can lean against Zuko’s back and take a nap. 

Zuko reaches around Sokka and takes the reins, since Sokka clearly isn’t interested. 

“Are we there yet?” the man complains.

Zuko chuckles. There it is. “Almost, I think.”

Sokka groans. “Man, traveling on land takes so  _ long. _ I miss Appa.”

Zuko silently agrees. The version of him Sokka knows has only been on Appa a few days at most, but he remembers how helpful the bison had been running away from danger or simply getting them around the world far more quickly than his old ship had. 

He thinks fondly about his airship. Any sort of flying vehicle would come in handy right about now. He wonders if Sokka had invented it yet, or if he could help speed that process along. Not for the Fire Nation, of course, not until the Fire Lord is gone and the war is over. Just for their personal use. 

“We should camp soon, it’s getting dark,” Zuko muses. He’s answered by a soft snore and his mouth quirks into a small smile. Of course. 

As Zuko starts looking around for a good place on the river bank to set up camp, he hears the faint sound of music coming from somewhere up ahead. He frowns and pulls on the reins, and slowly approaches what he assumes is a musical troupe, judging by the variety of instruments he can hear. 

He’s just rounding a bend when Sokka suddenly shoots upright, head crashing into Zuko's chin this time. 

Zuko jerks back, grabbing at the bruised area. “Hey! Watch it!”

Sokka ignores him. “Is that music?”

“Hullo strangers!” a voice calls.

Zuko pushes aside his annoyance and looks up around Sokka. A man, likely the one who had spoken, is waving at them. He and a loose collection of wildly dressed individuals are circled around a fire, each with a different instrument in their hands. 

“Hi!” Sokka says, waving back.

“Care to join us?” the man calls, and he and the woman next to him scoot aside so there’s room at the fire. 

Sokka glances over his shoulder at Zuko. It’s clear he wants to, and while Zuko is wary, they seem harmless enough. They’re just traveling musicians, after all. 

Then again, Ty Lee is just an acrobat, technically. One can never be too careful.

Zuko shrugs, resigning himself to a night of song and dance. It makes him think of his uncle, and he misses the old man. He would love these people, he thinks.

Sokka shoots him a grin and jumps off the ostrich horse to go sit by the man, leaving Zuko the job of tying their ride up against a nearby tree and setting the beast up with food and water for the night. By the time he joins the rest of the group, Sokka has been given a drum and is doing his best to hit it in time with the beat of whatever inane song they’ve begun singing.

“Hello again, stranger!” the man who had invited them calls out. “I’m Chong, and this is Lily. We’re nomads!”

Zuko notices he doesn’t introduce any of the others. He wonders if the man even knows their names. 

“I’m Sokka!” Sokka glances up at Zuko and pauses in his drumming to move aside so he can sit down. Zuko does so carefully, feeling the comforting shift of his broadswords strapped to his back. 

“I’m Li,” he says cordially. Sokka’s eyes flash as he notes the pseudonym, but he doesn’t say anything.

“We don’t have any more instruments, I’m afraid,” Chong says mournfully. “You’ll just have to clap on beat with your friend there.”

Sokka shoots Zuko a grin as he hammers at his drum, very much not on beat. 

The song ends, thankfully, and the nomads start digging around their things for food. Zuko pulls some rations out of his pack while Sokka turns to Chong. 

“How far away are we from Omashu, would you say?” he asks, taking the jerky Zuko hands him. 

“Oh, I couldn’t say.” The nomad chuckles. “We don’t pay any mind to things like ‘places’. We’re either there, or we’re not. And I’d say we’re not there.” He glances at Lily. “Are we?”

She takes a long moment to think about it. “No,” she says, but she doesn’t sound sure.

Sokka glances back at Zuko, a tight grin on his face. Zuko rolls his eyes. 

“Omashu?” one of the other nomads says suddenly from the other side of the fire. “That city? What was that old legend about it, again?”

“You know where it is?” Sokka asks excitedly.

“The secret passage!” Lily cries, clapping her hands together. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“The what?” Zuko asks, leaning forward. “Where is it?”

Chong grabs his lute and Zuko’s excitement turns to dread. Not more singing… 

“How did it go?” he mutters to himself. “Ah -”

And then he bursts into song.

Zuko immediately tunes it out and leans back on his hands. He doesn’t think any of these people pose a threat, but this whole thing is a waste of time.

At least Sokka seems to be happy, watching Chong struggle to remember the lines, attention rapt. His eyes sparkle with excitement. As Zuko watches him, he feels a warmth in his chest. Has he been regulating his temperature without thinking?

Sokka lets out a laugh as Chong’s string breaks in the middle of his harried strumming, and Zuko can’t help but smile at the sight. He wants to preserve that expression in his mind forever.

He shakes his head. What kind of thought was that? He likes Sokka well enough, but just seeing him laugh is making him think the weirdest things. His heart is beating fast, too. What is going on?

The nomads quickly grow bored of their tunnel song, and switch to something useless. Zuko sighs, knowing he’s probably gotten whatever information he could from them already. He wonders if he can slip away and get ready for bed without them noticing so he doesn’t have to explain his departure.

The nomads start dancing, and Zuko takes that as his cue to leave, but Sokka reaches out a hand. Zuko blinks at it.

“Just one dance,” Sokka says. “It’s fun!”

Zuko has only ever danced in the stiff, unfeeling style of Fire Nation nobility. He doesn’t think regular Fire Nation citizens even dance at all. 

Against his better judgement, he takes Sokka’s hand.

Sokka yanks him up and grabs his other hand, and the two of them spin wildly, not even bothering to stay in time with the music. Sokka’s grinning wildly, laughing, while Zuko is more focused on trying to keep them from stepping on each others’ feet or any of their things on the ground. 

The nomads have no such worries, dancing just as wildly, but more on the beat, to their credit. Zuko is so focused on his feet, he doesn’t notice when one of them bumps into his back and he’s sent flying into Sokka’s chest. He looks up to see Sokka just as surprised as he is, both of their eyes wide, faces inches apart. They stand frozen for a moment, then a deep blush covers Sokka’s face and he pulls away.

He smiles, but it’s clearly forced. “Let’s get to bed,” he says. “We can go looking for that tunnel in the morning.”

Despite how he had been uninterested in dancing, Zuko almost doesn’t want to leave. 

Sokka is already heading off to their ostrich horse, so Zuko says nothing and follows him. The two of them set up a small fire of their own, but Sokka retreats to the other side of the ostrich horse and curls up in his bedroll.

Zuko wonders what he’d done wrong. They’d started sleeping on the same side not too long ago. What had changed? 

He lies on his own bedroll, but can’t get to sleep. The nomads continue their dancing, but he doubts he would be able to calm the thoughts in his mind enough to fall asleep even if they hadn’t been.

There’s something happening with him, he thinks, and Sokka is the cause. He just needs to figure out what it is. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these two did not get nearly as far as i wanted them to but they were having so much fun
> 
> i love your comments i really do they really make my day so this is for those of you who even just pop in to say hi every chapter <3
> 
> see you next week


	9. nono

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eh it's only a little bit into saturday? also the chapter is long ! which is why im late. yes.

Suki frowns up at the gates. “You sure this’ll work?”

“Oh yeah!” Aang grins widely. “Being the Avatar has its perks, you know?”

Katara rolls her eyes. That’s certainly one way of putting it. She reaches out and knocks on the wooden doors.

They open to reveal a guard. “What is your business here?” he asks, sounding bored.

Aang shoots him a bright grin. “I’m the Avatar!”

There’s a brief pause.

“Congratulations…?” The guard seems confused, but not disbelieving.

“We were hoping to speak to the Beifongs' daughter,” Katara explains.

The guard’s eyes widen, and he glances to the side as if looking for any listening ears. “Ah - how do you -” He glances at Aang’s forehead for a second, mumbles “I’ll be back,” then retreats and slams the door in their faces. 

The three blink at each other. “Was that… Good?” Aang asks.

They don’t have to wait long, thankfully, before the guard is back. “Please, come inside.”

Aang takes the lead, and they follow the guard through carefully maintained gardens to an ornate house. The guard opens the door and bows to let them past. The room they enter is filled with intricate designs and detailed art. Katara has never been in an Earth Kingdom noble’s house, but she imagines they’re all like this. Fancy stuff everywhere, and nothing practical in sight. 

At the head of the room is a large bench with two cushions on the seat. In front of it stands a man and a woman, and between them, a small girl. A very familiar girl.

Katara tries to hide her grin. She knew she'd been right!

“It is our honor to host you in our home. I am Lao, and this is my wife, Poppy.” the man says, and the two of them bow in unison. Katara and her companions hurry to do the same. “Now, Avatar, what business do you have with Toph?” 

“I want her to be my earthbending teacher!” Aang says.

Lao and Poppy exchange incredulous looks, but Katara notes how the girl jerks in surprise, although she doesn’t look up from the ground. 

“There must be some mistake,” Lao says carefully. “Our daughter is an earthbender, yes, but you would be better served by a master. Perhaps her tutor, Master Yu?”

Aang narrows his eyes, but is cut off by Poppy. “There are a great many masters we know. Perhaps we can discuss this over food? It would be an honor to have you as a dinner guest, Avatar.”

Aang still doesn’t seem pleased. Katara steps in. “We would be honored,” she says. Best to follow along for now.

The Beifongs don’t seem to be aware of their daughter’s abilities. There’s a definite change from the confident stance of the Blind Bandit and the timid one of Toph Beifong, but Katara  _ knows  _ they’re the same person. They need to get her alone so Aang can ask without her parents around to reject his offer. 

Dinner is an exercise in restraint as Lao and Poppy offer up different earthbenders that Aang constantly rejects. His heart seems to be set on Toph. 

They take the offered guest room, hoping for a chance to talk to Toph. They get their opportunity soon enough when Toph herself appears in the doorway. Aang jumps up to talk to her but she pushes past him, heading out the door into the gardens. Katara recognizes that she wants more privacy than they would get in the room, and she and Aang go to follow her, leaving Suki to feed Appa for the night.

“How did you find me?” she demands, arms crossed, once they’re some ways away from the house.

“I recognized you in the carriage,” Katara explains. 

Toph huffs. “I knew your voice sounded familiar. Whatever. Don’t tell  _ anyone _ . If my parents found out…” She trails off, folding in on herself. 

“You could come with us,” Aang pipes up. “I was serious when I said I wanted you as my earthbending teacher. You were incredible at the Earth Rumble! I’ve never seen anything like it! How did you  _ do  _ that?”

Toph huffs, but Katara can tell from her small smile that she appreciates the praise. “I use my earthbending to see,” she explains. “I feel the vibrations in the ground with my feet.” Katara only notices then that she’s not wearing any shoes. She crosses a bridge, walking along the edge with ease. Aang’s eyes sparkle in amazement. “This way I can see everything around me. You, those plants…” She sighs. “My parents don’t understand. They think I’m helpless. They barely let me leave the house, they’d never let me go with you.”

“But you’re the Blind Bandit,” Katara says. “I’m guessing that’s something they don’t let you do.”

“Yeah, but that’s different.” Toph stops walking and tilts her head up to the sky. “I go every couple of nights, and then I’m back by morning. I get to be myself for a little bit, then I can push it back down and it’s a little easier to pretend. Going with you… I can’t hide that one as easily.”

“You shouldn’t have to hide who you are,” Aang says, face drawn in determination. 

Toph seems to want to respond, but her head whips around suddenly to face toward the back of the gardens. “There’s someone coming - run!”

The three of them hurry back toward the house, but are cut off by an earthbender bursting from the ground in front of them. Something about the technique is familiar to her, but she can’t quite place where she recognizes him. Another, larger man jumps out from behind, and Katara just barely manages to get out of the way of his grasp. The men don’t seem focused on her, though, managing to push Aang and Toph into metal cages brought out by a third. 

Katara hears a noise behind her and spins around, only to face yet another man. This time, she recognizes the face of the announcer from the Earth Rumble. She knows where she’s seen the other men, too: contestants she’d watched at the match. 

“You tell the Beifongs that if they want their daughter back they should bring five hundred gold coins to the arena tomorrow morning,” the announcer says with a cold smile. 

Katara bares her teeth and jerks her hands, and a wave of water is pulled from the stream beneath the bridge. It hits the announcer square in the chest, knocking him back. 

She whips around to take care of the other two, but they’re already gone, along with the metal cages Toph and Aang had been trapped in. 

Katara runs back to the house, surprising Suki, who had been about to go to sleep.

Once she’s filled in, the two of them hurry to inform the remaining Beifongs. Poppy looks horrified, while Lao grits his teeth.

“We will pay the ransom,” he says eventually. 

The next morning, Katara and Suki accompany the Beifongs and a guard carrying the chest of gold. They ride through the city in the carriage, trying to appear normal. Lao is stiff in his seat, while Poppy wrings her hands together, trying to hold back tears.

Katara isn’t sure how she feels about them right now. She doesn’t like how they hold Toph back from what she can clearly do, but the worry they both carry in different ways shows they care what happens to their daughter. 

Some things are complicated like this. She and Aang have done their part, offering Toph a way out. What happens next is up to Toph and her parents, and them alone.

That is, if they can free her.

They reach the arena, and are led inside by the Boulder, after he checks the chest to make sure the gold is there. 

Hanging on chains above the center of the ring are the cages holding Aang and Toph. Katara’s shoulders slump in relief when she sees they seem unharmed. 

Toph’s arm is sticking out of the bars of her cage, and she’s yelling explicatives at the announcer standing beneath her, accompanied by rude gestures. Aang is clinging to his own bars, eyes wide, watching the proceedings. 

“Ah, you’ve arrived,” the announcer says, ignoring Toph. “The money?”

“All there,” Lao says, beckoning the guard forward.

At her father’s voice, Toph cuts herself off mid sentence and turns in his approximate direction.

Poppy stares up at her daughter, eyes wide. 

The announcer checks the chest, despite the fact the Boulder had just done that, and nods sharply. The chain holding Toph’s cage is loosened and dropped to the ground, and the announcer opens the door. He jumps back as Toph hurls herself at him, but she is quickly grabbed by the guard who had been carrying the chest and guided over to her parents. Poppy clutches her arm and Lao rests a hand on her shoulder, his eyes fixed on the announcer. 

He nods once.

They turn to leave.

“Wait! What about Aang?” Katara cries out.

“The Avatar?” The announcer lets out a laugh. “Don’t think we didn’t see him cheat! The Earth Rumble is for earthbenders only. Besides, I imagine the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for him. Best keep him around.” He gestures at the notice board by the door, which Katara only now realizes has a few wanted posters scattered among the event listings. Just as the announcer had said, there’s one for Aang, and -  _ wow _ that’s a lot of money.

Another poster catches her eye. A pair of masked figures are listed next to each other. The Blue and Red Spirits, last seen in a town not too far from Omashu. 'Blue Spirit'... Why does that sound familiar?

She turns away. Saving Aang is the most important thing right now. She clenches her fists, feeling for the water in the pouch at her hip. Suki gets into a fighting position beside her.

The Beifongs are almost gone when Toph suddenly stops.

“Why are you stopping?” Lao asks.

“You’re just going to just leave him?” Toph’s shoulders are hunched.

“Dear, we came to save  _ you. _ ” Poppy grips her arm. “We cannot help the Avatar any more than his friends can.”

_ "You _ might not be able to, but  _ I  _ can.” Toph straightens out her shoulders and stands tall. Katara realizes this is the first time she’s seen the girl in the presence of her parents not trying to make herself seem smaller.

“You cannot fight them!” Lao says. “They are professionals, and you are just a little blind girl! Come along at once, we need to get you to safety.”

“No.” Toph turns away from her parents and back toward the ring. “I _can_ fight them. I do it every month, and I _beat_ their _asses_ _every_ _time!"_

Before her parents can say anything, Toph is running back toward the ring.

The other contenders jump from the sidelines, but she clearly knows their tricks and makes short work of anyone who tries to face her.

Katara and Suki follow, but don’t have much to do in the way of fighting. They hurry to Aang’s cage and work at the lock.

It takes a few bashes from one of Suki’s fans, but they manage to work it open. Aang free, they turn to see Toph launch the Boulder across the arena and then turn to face the only man left standing, the announcer. 

He lets out an undignified yelp and runs off with the rest of the contestants. 

Toph turns back to her family, smiling with pride. Her parents are frozen with shock.

“I’m sorry I did this from you, and I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Toph says. “But this - this is who I  _ really _ am. Not your blind, helpless daughter. I’m an earthbender, and a fighter, and I love it. And you know what? I’m not just gonna fight in Earth Rumbles, I’m gonna join the Avatar and fight against the Fire Nation. This is what I’m meant to do. And I hope you can accept that.”

There’s a long, tense silence. Then -

“Accept that?!” Poppy shrieks. “Darling, this sport is not safe! You could get hurt! Or worse!”

Toph’s grin falls off her face. “But -”

“Your mother is right,” Lao says evenly. He beckons the guard to grab Toph again. “If this is what you’re getting into when we’re not watching you, then clearly we’ve been far too lenient with you. You are going back home this instant, and then we’ll see if you’re ever allowed to leave the house again.”

“No - dad -” Toph pleads, but she lets herself be dragged away anyway. All the fight leaves her body and by the time she’s back at her parents’ side, she’s just as curled into herself as before.

“As for you,” Lao says, fixing Aang with a glare. “You are the one who gave our daughter all these ideas of fighting. I never want to see you or your companions bother my family again.”

With that, he sweeps around and leads his family out the door.

Katara exchanges a wide-eyed look with Suki and Aang. She has no idea what to do. Aang wants Toph to join their group, and Toph wants to join them as well. But her parents won’t let her, and it’s not like they can just sneak in and kidnap her.

Right?

Katara dismisses the thought as soon as she has it. That’s the kind of plan her brother would come up with, something convoluted and crazy and fifty percent effective.

She really, really wishes Sokka were here.

In the end, there really isn’t much they can do, so the three of them leave the arena and head back toward the estate to pick up Appa. 

They gather their supplies and make their way out without seeing any of the Beifongs until they get to the gate.

“Wait!” a voice cries.

Katara turns around to see Toph sprinting toward them, carrying a small pack.

“My dad changed his mind! He said I can go with you!”

“Really?” Aang’s grin is wide. 

Katara doesn’t quite believe that, but says nothing.

She holds her silence even as Toph gently nudges them toward getting on Appa and leaving as soon as possible. 

They land on a hill just outside the village to regroup, and then Aang goes to jump back on Appa and guide them away.

“We - we can’t leave yet,” Katara says suddenly, taking a step back.

“What? Why not?” Aang asks.

“We should really get going, my parents might change their minds again,” Toph says, sounding almost worried. 

“We have to wait.” Katara insists. She can’t believe she’s forgotten. “The others could get here any day.”

Suki’s eyes widen. “Oh, that’s gonna be tough to explain.”

“We can camp out here,” Toph supplies. “I know these hills. I grew up here, basically. We can keep an eye on things for when your friends get here.”

Katara’s shoulders slump. 

It’s their best option, for now. They can’t go back into Gaoling and risk Aang or Toph being seen, and they can’t leave, or they’ll miss Sokka and Zuko.

Still unsure, she helps the others make camp.

“Well, you’ve already got air, and Katara’s your waterbending teacher, and now you’ve got me as an earthbending teacher,” Toph says, propping her feet up by the fire. “You’ve almost got the whole set. Though getting a firebending teacher these days might be tough, huh?”

“That’s not a problem, actually!” Aang says cheerfully. “I already have one! Zuko’s traveling with Katara’s brother Sokka to meet us here soon!”

Toph freezes. “Wait. Did you say your firebending teacher is Zuko? As in, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation Zuko?!  _ That Zuko?!" _

Aang’s grin doesn’t falter. “That’s the one!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay the gang's all here officially!


	10. decimo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably the closest i'll get to chapters that follow canon events. even when im sticking to the canon timeline i really try avoiding exact episodes. but i really wanted to include this... its so long because zuko kept going off into tangents and dancing around his feelings. i wanted them to get here last chapter but they keep doing their own thing. these kids and their feelings smh.

Zuko wakes up tired. He’d barely gotten any sleep, but the sun won’t let him sleep in.

To his surprise, Sokka is already awake and packing up their supplies. He sits up and glances back to the nomads’ camp, surprised to see they’re still there. That whole night had felt like a fever dream.

Thinking back to that night reminds him of what had happened at the end of it, and he glances back at Sokka. The man doesn’t seem angry, but he doesn’t seem happy either.

Sokka glances up, noticing Zuko’s awake. He smiles softly, and Zuko relaxes. Maybe he’s not mad at him?

“Chong said we can travel with them until we get to the entrance of the tunnel, since they all want to see it, apparently,” Sokka explains, tightening the last of the straps. “After that, we’re on our own. Apparently it’s quicker than going in the normal way, and we’re already behind enough.”

Zuko nods. He’s not exactly pleased to be traveling with the nomads, but it would be good to cut down on travel time. Aang’s probably already started his training, he thinks. 

He hopes the kid’s alright. He hopes Katara is, too. He trusts them to take care of themselves, especially with Appa and Momo at their sides, but he can’t help but worry.

Sokka takes the reins of the ostrich horse of his own accord, for once. Zuko slides in place behind him, lifts his arms to wrap around Sokka’s waist, pauses, then lowers them. He’s still unsure about - whatever had happened last night, and doesn’t want to push any boundaries. 

Sokka glances over his shoulder with a small frown, then shrugs and sets about guiding the ostrich horse on its way in the wake of the nomads. 

The ride is silent, but not entirely uncomfortable. Sokka is clearly lost in thought, so Zuko runs through what he knows of Omashu from his own time, piecing together what he knows from Aang’s stories. At some point, he thinks, the city had been under Fire Nation control, hadn’t it? And right about that time -

He freezes. He had never been informed of the movement itself, but he knows enough about Fire Nation strategy. The loss in the North, especially the original, devastating version of it, had been a serious blow to army morale. His father would have made a point to deliver a victory, and it was entirely possible that that victory had come in the form of conquering Omashu, one of the last two Earth Kingdom cities standing. He well knows that the city had fallen before Ba Sing Se, after all.

Had he sent Aang into a trap? 

“Sokka,” he says haltingly. 

“Mm?” Sokka is clearly pulling himself out of whatever distant mindscape he had been in. 

“Based on what I know of Fire Nation movements,” Zuko says slowly, coming up with something believable on the fly. “They might be headed for Omashu.”

Sokka turns to frown at him. “And you didn’t think to tell Aang this when he said he wanted to go there?”

“I didn’t think of it then! I don’t know exactly where they’re going to be at any point in time.”

Sokka sighs deeply. “So now we’re probably headed into a trap, and Aang has probably already been in this trap for days.”

“Maybe?” Zuko hangs his head, kicking himself for not thinking of this before. He’s the worst time traveler in existence. What good is his knowledge of the future if he can’t remember it in time to do anything with it? “I mean, it’s the army, and they move slowly with all their equipment and everything. They’re probably not even here yet.”

Sokka stares at him for a long while. “Here’s hoping they’re not, and we have time to warn Omashu, then.” 

He turns back to face the road, and they ride in silence again, this time with more tension between them than the last.

“Sorry,” Zuko says quietly. 

There’s a long pause, and then Sokka says, “This is more warning than we would have had otherwise.” Zuko thinks that’s the closest to an acceptance of his apology as he’s going to get, but Sokka goes on, more quietly, “I know you’re trying to help as best you can.”

Zuko lets out a deep sigh and leans forward so his head is resting against Sokka’s back. To his surprise, Sokka reaches one hand back and gently tugs one of his arms forward to wrap around his waist. He moves the other to join it, and adjusts his head to rest on Sokka’s shoulder. He moves slowly, waiting for Sokka to pull away.

He doesn’t.

They ride in companionable silence, and Zuko thinks that, for now, everything is okay between them. 

He still has his own feelings to work through, but he doesn’t want to mess with what they have right now. 

The nomads up ahead start cheering, and Lily breaks into song, which alerts Zuko to the fact they’ve arrived at their destination. He straightens up, leaning closer to Sokka in order to get a good look over his shoulder. It’s a fairly nondescript tunnel, all things considered. He really hopes the nomads know what they’re doing, and this actually leads to Omashu.

“So we just walk right through?” Sokka says.

He and Zuko separate and slide off the ostrich horse. Zuko takes the reins and pats the mount’s neck. 

“No, no no,” Chong laughs. “Weren’t you listening to the song? It’s the cave of two  _ lovers. _ You need to use the power of love to get through!”

“But… It’s a tunnel.”

“Not a tunnel!” says Lily, even though she and the others had been referring to it exclusively as a tunnel the entire time. “A labyrinth!”

Zuko and Sokka exchange a long look. Maybe this hadn’t been the right decision. 

“Oh, look!” one of the nomads says, pointing in the direction from which they had come. “A campfire! In the middle of the day!”

Zuko follows with his eyes, and his heart sinks. Not a campfire. Just as he had been dreading, it’s the familiar smoke of a platoon of Fire Nation soldiers. He doesn’t think they had been followed, but even if this is just a coincidence, he knows it only spells trouble. 

Sokka sees his expression and swears under his breath. “Guess it’s the secret labyrinth, then,” he mutters.

“You guys should come too,” Zuko says, glancing worriedly at the nomads. “The Fire Nation is getting close.”

Only laughter greets his statement, and Chong says, “We don’t pay any mind to things such as ‘nations’. We leave them alone, and they leave us alone. None of them know how to party, anyway!”

The nomads laugh once again, and Lily winks at him.

Her amber eyes glint in the sunlight, looking almost gold. 

Before he can say anything, the troupe turns and starts to make its way farther along the path they had been taking. 

“Okay,” Sokka says, setting his shoulders. “Guess we’re on our own.” He turns to the entrance, then turns back. “You think they’ll be alright?”

Zuko is still staring off after the nomads, Lily’s eyes fresh in his mind. “Yeah,” he says, and somehow, he believes it.

He follows Sokka to stand behind him at the mouth of the cave, gently pulling the ostrich horse along behind him. The steed doesn’t seem bothered by the prospect of going into a cave, which he’s thankful for. 

Sokka glances at him out of the corner of his eye, then shrugs, and steps forward into the darkness. 

Zuko follows. 

“Not gonna light a fire?” Sokka asks as the light of the entrance fades away behind them.

“Oh - oh, right.” Zuko brings out his free hand and a small flame blossoms above his palm. It’s not much, only enough to see the area around them. He watches Sokka carefully for his reaction.

Sokka stares at it for a long moment, face devoid of expression, then turns to survey the tunnel they’re standing in. It’s long, stretching deeper into the darkness. It doesn’t seem to branch off anywhere, as far as Zuko can tell from here. Maybe this won’t be so bad. 

He quickly reevaluates that opinion. They find their first fork after a few minutes of walking, and Sokka uses his club to draw an arrow in the ground to mark the direction they had gone, just in case they had to backtrack. Several forks and too many backtracks later, Zuko finds himself frowning down at an old arrow in the ground.

“I swear we’ve been through this exact hallway before,” Sokka grumbles, pacing as he tries to think.

“Did we make a circle without realizing it?” Zuko asks, stroking the neck of the ostrich horse. It doesn’t seem overly stressed, somehow, but he knows the poor animal must be confused. 

“No, I  _ know _ my directions,” Sokka huffs. “We’ve been heading away from this fork ever since we took it.” He spins around and points at the arrow on the ground accusingly. “The only explanation is - the tunnels are changing!”

As if to prove him right, there’s a distant rumbling. Sokka throws his hands up. “We’ll never get out of here,” he groans, sinking to his knees. 

There’s another loud noise, and Zuko turns to look down the tunnel behind him as he sees a large shape coming closer. “Uh - Sokka -”

The shape turns out to be a wolfbat. It doesn’t seem interested in them, but as it passes, the ostrich horse spooks. It yanks the reins out of Zuko’s grip and tears off down the pathway that Sokka hadn’t drawn an arrow in. 

Zuko swears and grabs Sokka’s hand, pulling him up and behind him as he hurries after their ride. 

They manage to catch up not too long after, but Zuko is hopelessly lost. They had followed the ostrich horse through branches and side tunnels, never once stopping to draw an arrow on the ground. Not that it would help much, if Sokka is correct that the tunnels are changing around them, as unlikely as that is. The ostrich horse is standing next to a pair of massive doors, panting, and Zuko finds himself smiling. Have they finally found the exit?

Sokka squeezes his hand, a grin on his own face, and Zuko realizes only then that they’ve been holding hands through the entire mad dash. Sokka doesn’t try to pull away, seemingly not realizing it, and Zuko doesn’t move to separate either. 

His free hand is still holding their light source, so he lets Sokka take the lead. The man pushes at the door, and, thankfully, it opens with seemingly little effort. He absently grabs the reins of the ostrich horse and hurries through, pulling Zuko along by their joined hands. 

The two of them stop in the doorway, their high spirits dropping as they take in what’s on the other side. It’s just as dark in here as the rest of this labyrinth, because it’s not the exit.

Zuko thinks it looks rather like a tomb. 

He brightens the flame in his hand, and the two of them take in the art that covers the walls. It tells a story of two lovers separated by a mountain both literal and figurative. Their villages had been enemies, but the two of them had fallen in love regardless, and had used earthbending to build tunnels through the mountain to be with each other in secret.

He turns to Sokka. This must be the story the nomads had been talking about. This is the remains of the labyrinth the two lovers had created, in order to bridge the divide that had separated them. 

The story goes on to tell of a tragedy, of the man dying in the war and the woman using her power to end it once and for all. Their names had been Oma and Shu, Zuko realizes, coming to the end of the line of pictures, and this is the legend of the founding of the city.

Something about the story itself reminds him of himself and Sokka, in a way. They come from opposite sides of a war, and here they are, hand in hand in a cave created by two who had been separated in a similar way, but had fallen in love, despite it all.

He stares at Sokka’s profile, an unfamiliar feeling bubbling in his chest, hyper-aware of their joined hands. Two people, separated by war, who had fought so hard to be together despite it all. 

Hopefully the two of them, just like Oma and Shu before them, can make peace. 

“Love is brightest in the dark,” Sokka says slowly, reading the text of the carving closest to them, of Oma and Shu sharing a passionate kiss. 

He turns to face Zuko, face flush in the firelight. “I -” he turns away suddenly. “Never mind. That’s stupid.”

“What is it?” Zuko prompts.

Sokka glances up, then lets out a huff of air. “Well, it’s just -” he turns back to the carving. “You know. The nomads told us love would get us through, and this is also talking about love, and, you know, they’re  _ kissing, _ so I just think, maybe, we should try… Kissing?”

“What?” 

Sokka pulls away, frowning down at his hand as if he’s only just realizing it’s in Zuko’s. “Yeah - yeah. It was stupid. Nevermind.”

Zuko grips Sokka’s hand, keeping him from pulling out of his grasp. “I mean - I dunno. We don’t have any better ideas.” The thought of kissing Sokka - his heart beats a little faster. Yes, it’s because they’re extremely lost and grasping at straws, but he finds he’s eager to try. Just because it’s their only idea so far. Of course. 

Sokka stares at their joined hands, then into Zuko’s eyes.

“Okay,” he says eventually.

“Okay?”

“Let’s give it a shot.” Sokka has a small grin on his face, and then he’s leaning in.

Zuko leans in as well, eyes fluttering closed. 

The first touch of their lips together is hesitant, and he feels Sokka pull away, but then Sokka surges back in to kiss him properly, pulling his hand out of Zuko’s grip to cup the side of his face. 

In his surprise, the flame in Zuko’s hand goes out, and he wraps his arms around Sokka’s waist to pull him closer.

They kiss for a while, pulling away and together as they silently work out how hard to push and what feels the best. Neither of them are very experienced, it seems, and they are both clearly figuring things out as they go, but when they finally pull away, gasping for breath, Sokka’s smile is just as bright as Zuko feels.

Sokka’s blue eyes shine in the faint light, brimming with an unreadable emotion.

Wait - light?

Zuko tears himself away from Sokka’s gaze to glance at the ceiling. Flecks of light gleam from a line of stones embedded into the rock, something he hadn’t even noticed with the light from his flame. The glowing stones form a line, stretching through the tomb towards an opening in the wall across from them and into the tunnel beyond. 

“Look,” he says softly.

Sokka follows his gaze and brightens. “It’s a path!” 

Sokka is the one who grabs his hand this time, as the man pulls him and the ostrich horse out of the room and down the path the light makes for them. As they follow their new guide through branches and tunnels, Zuko thinks about the kiss. It had been a spur of the moment thing, he thinks, spurred on by desperation and some weird legends told them by some nomads. The true message had been about the darkness, he now knows, and they hadn’t needed to kiss at all, just to extinguish the flame. 

Despite the warmth in his heart at the thought of the kiss, he chooses to push it out of his mind. Sokka had been the one to suggest it, but that doesn’t mean he wants to do it again, and there is no more reason for it. 

He’s pulled out of his thoughts as the tunnel opens up in front of them, and suddenly there’s light - sunlight. They’ve actually reached the exit this time.

Sokka’s excited whoop as he pulls Zuko through the mouth cuts off suddenly as he takes in the sight before him. Zuko blinks as he adjusts to the brightness, trying to focus on what Sokka sees. The city of Omashu opens up before them, as impressive as the stories had always said. But with one distinct difference.

The red banners that flow off its towers are emblazoned with a familiar, terrifying flame.

The Fire Nation is already here.

They’re too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there you have it ! yeah i have been teasing zukka the past several chapters and now it's explicit. they still have a ways to go before they get together get together, but that will happen. eventually. also they have a ways to go before they get back together with aang and katara and meet suki and toph, but things will work themselves out that way soonish. anyway see you guys next week !
> 
> ps happy hannukah everyone! got so wrapped up in polishing this chapter off i missed sundown and all my neighbors are probably judging me :) better late than never! gonna eat some latkes with applesauce because im not an animal


	11. undecimo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> made it in time! this was a bit of a struggle because sokka and zuko are behind schedule. but more on them next week.
> 
> disclaimer: ive never read the kyoshi novel and so anything i say here is just my own headcanon. i think it would be pretty fun though! also its been a while, maybe its just a myth thats now taken as fact

Katara stares up at the notice board, mouth twisted in worry. There’s no sign of Sokka and Zuko, but it’s likely they’re still some days away. According to Suki, Appa is the fastest way to travel by far, as he can easily avoid all the geological barriers that anyone traveling by land has to deal with.

Katara herself had been the one to come up with the idea to check the notice board. She knows her brother, much as he would try to deny it, would be drawn to help anyone in need along his path. If he’s made any sort of enemies, which, again, is something her brother is prone to, his last known location would show up in the form of a wanted poster. She hopes.

Aang had asked to come, but Katara doesn’t think it’s safe. Despite his best efforts, the airbender tends to reveal himself, often through no fault of his own. But sometimes through fault of his own. 

Once again, she examines the posters of the Blue and Red Spirits, who had last been seen in a town somewhat close to Omashu. She knows she’s heard about them before - or just one? The Blue Spirit stands out more to her - but she can’t quite place where. 

Suki nudges her in the arm. “We should start to head out,” she whispers, meaning she’s noticed a few second glances from the townsfolk making their way through the square.

Katara wants to keep looking, but she knows the risks. She nods and turns to follow Suki, keeping her head down to avoid anyone’s gaze. She isn’t sure how much the general population of Gaoling knows about the Avatar’s companions, but she doesn’t want any word that Aang might be in the area to get back to the Earth Rumble staff or the Beifongs. 

Once they’ve reached the city limits, she and Suki break into a run, and they’re soon safely hidden in the shallow cave Toph had made for them to hide in. Appa is fast asleep by the ashes of last night’s fire, Momo resting on his nose, but Aang and Toph are nowhere to be found.

Katara feels a spike of worry, but Suki puts a hand on her arm. “They’re probably trying earthbending. I remember Toph mentioning that this morning.”

Katara lets out a long breath. She hopes they’re being safe about it, at least. 

“Let’s go try to find them,” Suki goes on. “I kinda want to see how it’s going.”

Katara does, too. Not just because she wants to make sure Aang is doing okay, but also she’s interested in seeing more of Toph’s style. The girl had been a lot more fluid than any other earthbender Katara had seen, and she wants to see her truly in her element, not just in an earthbending arena. 

Suki leads the way as they head deeper into the hills surrounding Gaoling. There are a lot of small ones, with random dips and caverns that spell doom for anyone who dares to wander off the roads that lead to the city. Toph claims she had spent a lot of her childhood wandering these hills, and, based on how expertly she’d led them to their campsite, Katara is inclined to trust her knowledge. She and Suki are wandering blindly for now, listening for the tell-tale sound of earth moving, trusting that they can find Toph easily enough. She doubts the earthbender took Aang far from the campsite.

Sure enough, as they round another bend to find themselves in a deep valley, Katara has to jump out of the way of a large boulder that had been deflected her way by a gust of wind.

“Stop airbending, Twinkle Toes!” cries Toph’s voice from somewhere up on the lip of the valley.

“Sorry! It’s reflex!” says Aang, flitting between boulders that are jumping out from the ground at him.

“Well, stop using reflexes and start using your head!”

Katara makes her way up to where Toph is sitting on a platform of earth, observing as Aang uses his agility and airbending to dodge all of her projectiles. 

“I’m trying to teach him to stand his ground,” Toph explains at a normal volume, not turning but clearly acknowledging Katara’s presence. “Earthbenders have to stand strong against anything - it’s our way. But he keeps jumping around!”

“That’s his way,” Katara replies. “Air does that - and water, too. It’s what he knows.”

“Well, it’s high time he learned something new.”

Katara is about to retort, but Suki speaks up behind her. She hadn’t even noticed the other woman join her on the side of the valley. “Earth and air were always opposing elements. On Kyoshi Island we always heard stories about how Avatar Kyoshi struggled to learn airbending.” Katara glances back to see a nostalgic look on Suki’s face, the woman clearly reminiscing about a childhood hearing stories. “Apparently she never really could get the hang of using air gliders because she never let herself be pulled by the wind. She was more interested in staying on the ground with the older monks and learning to make them!”

“Air gliders?” Toph asks curiously. 

“Airbenders used to use them to fly,” Katara explains briefly before turning back to Suki with wide eyes. “She knew how to make them?”

“Yeah,” Suki says. “It was more of a hobby, but it’s one of the things she passed on to the Kyoshi Warriors. Though we haven’t really made any in a while, because, you know. We all still learn, though.”

Katara glances at Aang, still dodging boulders. Toph is clearly invested in their exchange, but that doesn’t mean she’s let up on Aang’s training. “Aang’s glider was damaged when we had to flee the Fire Nation,” she says. “Do you think you can take a look at it?”

Suki’s eyebrows rise. “I can’t say I was ever the best at it, but I can probably get it working again. I could check it out tonight, see what the problem was…” She trails off, lost in thought, probably recalling old lessons. Katara turns her attention back to Aang.

“I don’t know what to do besides throw more rocks at him,” Toph grumbles. “I told him all he has to do is deflect them with earthbending, but he keeps panicking at the last second and airbending instead.”

“How did you start earthbending?” Katara asks. 

Toph takes a moment to think about it. “I started with my senses,” she says eventually. “I couldn’t see, obviously, so I used earthbending as a sense, first, before I started using it offensively.”

“Maybe you should try that with Aang, instead of starting him on offensive moves.”

“I’m his earthbending teacher, not you,” Toph responds sharply. “I know what I’m doing.”

“It was just a suggestion.” Katara holds her hands up placatingly despite knowing Toph can’t see them.

She watches Aang in silence until the sun begins to set, seeing no noticeable progress aside from Aang progressively getting more exhausted. 

“Alright, Twinkle Toes, time to wrap it up!” Toph shouts. The boulders stop flying.

Aang lets out a whoop and falls backwards, breathing hard.

Katara makes her way down to him and extends a hand to help him up. “Let’s get some dinner,” she says.

Aang takes her hand gratefully. “I’m trying to do what Toph says,” he tells her as they follow the earthbender back to their camp, “But I keep freaking out and airbending instead. It’s an accident! But I can’t get the hang of earthbending. I’ll never be an earthbender!”

“Aang, it’s only been one day,” Katara reminds him.

“But I can’t even make one rock move!” He sighs. “Just like when I tried at that school in Gaoling. I’m never gonna get it.”

“You will,” Katara reassures him. “You just have to keep trying.”

“I’ve never had to keep trying before,” Aang grumbles under his breath, so quietly Katara almost doesn’t catch it. “Usually I just get it.”

Katara doesn’t say anything to that, knowing he has a lot of thinking to do. He’s never struggled like he is with earthbending, and although she wants to comfort him, she also knows it’s important for him to experience this struggle and overcome it. He’ll get it eventually, she knows he will, but for now he has to work through his frustrations.

As Katara moves around the camp to get the food ready for dinner, Suki digs through Appa’s saddle for Aang’s glider. Katara winces when she sees the damage in the light of the fire. Most of the paper that had made up the wings is burnt away, and even the wooden body is singed. 

“What are you doing?” Aang asks, concerned.

Suki quickly explains the Kyoshi Warriors’ history with airbending gliders. “I can definitely take a good crack at it,” she adds. “I’d have to get more materials tomorrow from town, though.”

“Do you really know what you’re doing?” Aang asks tersely. 

Suki blinks. “Uh - yeah, mostly. Kyoshi herself taught us.”

“But she didn’t teach _you._ You learned from Earth Kingdom people. Not airbenders.”

“We can all work on it together tomorrow after your training,” Katara says placatingly. 

Aang relaxes somewhat at the prospect of being there to watch, but he is still obviously tense. 

“I still have a lot of work for you tomorrow,” Toph says. “We barely made any progress today. I want to see some real earthbending, first and foremost.”

“This is important, too,” Katara reminds her. “Aang’s staff is important to him.”

Toph huffs, clearly unsatisfied. 

As the four of them eat, there’s a palpable tension in the air between them. Katara hopes she can resolve everything before Sokka and Zuko get here. Actually, speaking of Zuko -

“Toph, how did you know who Zuko is?” she asks. She had been curious since the night before, but hadn’t really deemed it important enough to ask at the time.

Toph shrugs. “My parents are prominent nobles. Even if they never let me be part of their business dealings, I still overheard things. Like the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation’s name, for example. I’d heard he was banished, but I hadn’t heard he’s turned traitor.”

“He didn’t turn traitor,” Aang says. “He turned good! There’s a difference.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t good,” Toph says testily. “It’s certainly good for us. But it’s still being a traitor.”

Katara’s attempt to defuse the tension seems to have only made things worse. She pointedly gathers everyone’s bowls, hoping everyone will just go to sleep and feel calmer in the morning. 

She misses Sokka. A joke would go far to make everyone calm down, and she knows anything she’d try will pale in comparison. She misses his leadership skills, too. Despite Aang being the Avatar and her taking over much of the chores, Sokka had been the leader of their little group, always knowing how to set them straight and on course. At least, eventually. 

She knows she’ll have to wait for even news of his whereabouts, but she hopes that, wherever he is, he’s safe and on his way to her.

Otherwise she's just going to have to become the leader herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> katara and her gang are getting twitchy they need some updates on sokka and zuko soon. and theyll certainly get some. next week: zuko and sokka take omashu.


End file.
